An Arab official on Sunday pushed back against Hebrew media claims suggesting that Qatar had encouraged Hamas to turn down an Egyptian-mediated hostage-ceasefire proposal as fighting continues between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
Speaking to The Times of Israel, a source involved in the talks — though not from Qatar — said the allegations were being “manufactured” by Israeli officials trying to derail the negotiating process and shift attention away from Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, whose rigid conditions have made any deal nearly unattainable.
Netanyahu has firmly rejected any agreement that would end the war or allow Hamas to retain power over Gaza. Earlier this year, Israel also refused to initiate talks for a permanent ceasefire during a proposed three-stage hostage deal, resulting in the plan collapsing after only the first phase.
Over the past few days, several Hebrew-language news outlets published pieces — often based solely on Israeli sources or citing no sources at all — claiming that Qatar had advised Hamas to reject an Egyptian proposal by suggesting that Doha could obtain a more favorable long-term truce for the group.
Since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, Qatar has served as a central intermediary between Israel and Hamas. The terror group, backed by Iran and controlling the Gaza Strip, launched a deadly attack on Israel that day, murdering approximately 1,200 people and abducting 251 others.
Qatar provides a home base for Hamas’s political leaders and finances the pro-Hamas Al Jazeera network. With Israel’s approval, Qatar had also sent billions of dollars into Gaza in the years leading up to October 7.
Speaking Sunday, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said that Thursday’s discussions showed “some progress.”
An Israeli source told The Times of Israel that Mossad chief David Barnea, who has had a reduced role in the negotiations since Netanyahu appointed Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer to lead the Israeli team two months ago, flew to Doha last Thursday to meet with the Qatari prime minister in pursuit of an agreement.
“We have seen on Thursday a bit of progress compared to other meetings, yet we need to find an answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war. That’s the key point of the entire negotiations,” said Al-Thani at a press event alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
“When you don’t have a common objective, a common goal between the parties, I believe the opportunities [to end the war] become very thin,” added the Qatari prime minister.
Fidan echoed this sentiment, noting that discussions in recent days indicated Hamas would consider a broader agreement that goes beyond a temporary ceasefire and looks toward a comprehensive resolution with Israel.
On April 19, Fidan and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Hamas representatives in Ankara to review the ceasefire negotiations and assess the overall situation in Gaza.
According to Fidan, those discussions revealed that Hamas might agree to a deal that addresses broader Palestinian concerns and that the current crisis might be a stepping stone toward advancing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In addition to the ceasefire talks, Al-Thani on Sunday criticized Israeli media coverage surrounding the so-called “Qatargate” scandal, which involves allegations against two of Netanyahu’s aides for allegedly working on behalf of a Qatar-linked lobbying group.
“What is being called ‘Qatargate’ is journalistic propaganda for political purposes that has no basis in truth. Fringe politicians in Israel are leveling accusations against Doha while forgetting its role in the release of the hostages,” said Al-Thani.
“There is a public relations campaign being waged against the State of Qatar in Israel,” he said, explaining that “Qatar’s contracts with an American communications firm were intended to counter a public relations campaign against us in Israel.”
Court documents in the Qatargate investigation reveal that two Netanyahu advisers — Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein — are suspected of accepting payments to plant favorable pro-Qatar coverage in the media, all while working in the prime minister’s office.
Reports indicate that American lobbyist Jay Footlik played a significant role in arranging the alleged payments to Netanyahu’s aides. Last week, it was reported that Israeli investigators are planning to travel to the United States in the near future to question Footlik as part of the ongoing probe.
{Matzav.com Israel}