Hamas hostages, return of the Taliban, Sahel… How Qatar is establishing itself as an essential mediator

In the opinion of many international officials, it is still far too early to rejoice, given the many details that still need to be worked out. The implementation of the agreement relating to the release of 50 hostages, held by Hamas in Gaza, in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a four-day truce in the Gaza Strip was even postponed by at least 24 hours . The fact remains that this deal constitutes one of the rare reasons for hope in a devastated Middle East since the bloody attack carried out by Hamas terrorists on Israeli territory.

American President Joe Biden said he was “extraordinarily satisfied” while Emmanuel Macron “welcomed” this agreement this Wednesday and assured of working “tirelessly so that all the hostages are freed”. A total of 240 people were kidnapped by Hamas during the terrorist attack carried out on Israeli territory on October 7. This announced release of 50 of them nevertheless represents a reason for hope. It is the result of an agreement, each term of which has been and continues to be carefully weighed, and in which one actor seems to have played a preponderant role: Qatar.

“The Hamas political office is in Doha”

The wealthy gas emirate was thus able to rely on the links it maintains with the terrorist movement. “Hamas is considered the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar supports this movement and therefore supports Hamas,” Didier Billion, deputy director of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations, explained to us in the first days of the war. “The Hamas political office has been in Doha since 2012 and Ismaïl Haniyeh (the leader of Hamas) has resided there, more or less permanently since 2019,” says David Rigoulet-Roze, associate researcher at Iris and specialist in the Middle East. East.

And, most importantly, Qatar provides financial support to the organization. “Before October 7, every month there was an envoy from Qatar with a suitcase in cash carrying the sum of 30 million dollars, to pay Hamas officials,” illustrates David Rigoulet-Roze. But this close relationship, insists the specialist, was not opaque. “This transfer of money was carried out with the approval of Israel,” he recalls. This Qatari money also made it possible to keep the Gaza Strip and its 2.4 million inhabitants, under Israeli blockade since 2007, afloat.

A balancing act

But Qatar’s strength also lies in its propensity to “talk with everyone”. Despite the links maintained with Hamas, Qatar has been in dialogue with Israel for more than 30 years and has established itself as the main ally of the United States in the region. “The American central command, which strategically covers areas of the Middle East and Central Asia, is based in Qatar,” indicates David Rigoulet-Roze. Enough to make Qatar the ideal intermediary between two irreconcilable belligerents.

A mediator costume that Doha has worn for many years. Particularly in the summer of 2021, during the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan. “There had been a Taliban political office in Qatar for several years. But this suited all parties since it allowed the Americans to discuss more or less directly with the Taliban,” underlines David Rigoulet-Roze. This balancing act, which Doha has made its specialty, then made it possible to evacuate thousands of foreigners, but also several Afghans, 8,000 of whom were temporarily hosted in Qatar.

The role of “Sportpower”

This role of intercessor, pre-empted by Doha, was illustrated many years earlier. Thus, in 2014, after the establishment, by Daesh, of a caliphate encompassing an entire part of Iraq and Syria, many prisoners, held hostage, ended up being released thanks, among other things, to a Qatari mediation work. Prisoner exchanges between Iran and the United States, negotiations in the Sahel or even within the framework of the war in Ukraine, were also carried out under the supervision of Qatar.

But beyond the purely geopolitical aspect, Qatar draws its influence from the numerous investments made abroad. Particularly in the world of sport through a “sportpower” strategy, today widely practiced in the region, but of which Doha was the builder with, among others, the takeover of Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2011 by QSI, Qatar Sports Investments. “But this is not just about sportpower. It also involves diversified investments in Western companies and companies, particularly French ones,” notes David Rigoulet-Roze. So many elements which illustrate the web woven by Qatar in the world of international relations.