\n\n“Even before this most recent war between Israel and Hamas, the very tiny, very rich Gulf state had carved out a bit of a reputation as a diplomatic broker, especially in hostage negotiations. This has been a deliberate gambit on Qatar\u2019s part, which has cultivated and managed pragmatic ties with the region\u2019s main players \u2014 becoming a kind of middle man between parties that otherwise do not get along. It\u2019s a key US ally, hosting an American military base critical to US operations in places like Syria and Iraq. Qatar also has ties to Islamist groups, including Hamas, whose political arm has an office in Doha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has given Qatar leverage \u2014 and, most importantly, access. The United States and Israel do not negotiate directly with Hamas. That has made the Qataris an indispensable go-between. \u201cYou have to talk to Hamas to get anything done,\u201d said F. Gregory Gause, professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M. \u201cThe Qataris are there to help you out \u2014 and they\u2019re there to remind you that they\u2019re helping you out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qatar\u2019s role in this conflict extends beyond this week\u2019s deal. In late October, Qatar helped negotiate the release of a couple hostages held by Hamas<\/a>, and it may be helping to tamp down a wider regional conflict, given its good relations with Iran<\/a> and open channels with the Iranian-backed militant groupHezbollah<\/a>. Qatar played a role in mediating the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas<\/a>, and has supported Gaza<\/a>, including financing salaries for Hamas civil servants through the sale of fuel to the group \u2014 with the okay of Israel<\/a>, in part because Israel saw it as a stabilizing measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qatar\u2019s diplomacy isn\u2019t limited to the realm of Israel-Hamas, either. Qatar served as an intermediary<\/a> between the US and the Taliban before the two ultimately negotiated a peace deal directly, in Doha. Qatar\u2019s open lines with the Taliban helped facilitate evacuations from Afghanistan<\/a> after Kabul\u2019s fall in 2021, and even after.<\/a> And Qatar has increasingly become known for its skill in hostage negotiations,<\/a> even outside the region. It recently helped broker a deal to get Russia to return four Ukrainian kids to their families<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt wants to be influential, diplomatically, and it does understand that, obviously, it\u2019s not a regional superpower that can dictate things,\u201d said Bessma Momani, a political science professor at the University of Waterloo. Yet maintaining these delicate ties \u2014 and working those connections \u2014 is a very good way for Qatar to advance its interests, and its security. That approach comes with some risks<\/a>, but, at least right now, they don\u2019t outweigh the upsides for Qatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qatar finds \u201ca way to be helpful and resourceful in specific, niche areas that can have outsized influence,\u201d Momani said. \u201cThat\u2019s their strategy.\u201d”<\/p>\n\n\n\n