{"id":2688,"date":"2025-09-11T00:36:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T00:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/11\/the-price-of-mediation-how-qatar-could-respond-to-israels-attack\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T00:36:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T00:36:40","slug":"the-price-of-mediation-how-qatar-could-respond-to-israels-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/11\/the-price-of-mediation-how-qatar-could-respond-to-israels-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"The price of mediation? How Qatar could respond to Israel\u2019s attack"},"content":{"rendered":"<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>Doha, Qatar \u2013<\/strong> The sight of plumes of smoke in the aftermath of Israeli bombings have become commonplace across the Middle East in recent months \u2013 but in the skyline of Qatar\u2019s glitzy capital, it was wholly unprecedented.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/9\/israeli-military-says-it-has-attacked-hamas-leadership-in-qatars-doha\">Israel\u2019s attack on Doha<\/a> on Tuesday \u2013 the sixth country it has attacked this year \u2013 appeared to target the Palestinian group Hamas\u2019s negotiating team, who were speculated at the time to be on the brink of closing a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/podcasts\/2025\/9\/10\/the-take-why-did-israel-strike-doha\">ceasefire deal for Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section>\n<h2>Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n<p><span>list of 4 items<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>list 1 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2025\/9\/10\/israels-doha-attack-is-a-test-for-trumps-ties-with-the-gulf\">Israel\u2019s Doha attack is a test for Trump\u2019s ties with the Gulf<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 2 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/quotable\/2025\/9\/10\/israeli-strike-on-qatar-raises-doubts-on-us-security\">Israeli strike on Qatar raises doubts on US \u201csecurity guarantees\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 3 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/podcasts\/2025\/9\/10\/the-take-why-did-israel-strike-doha\">The Take: Why did Israel strike Doha?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>list 4 of 4<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2025\/9\/10\/trump-not-thrilled-over-israeli-attack-in-qatar\">Trump \u2018not thrilled\u2019 over Israeli attack in Qatar<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Qatar has played host to truce negotiations throughout the nearly two-year conflict, a leading mediator in the process \u2013 never a combatant. It is also a US ally, and the home of the US\u2019s largest military base in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Israel <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/9\/analysis-israel-leaps-over-red-lines-in-attack-on-qatari-capital-doha\">ignored red lines<\/a> to stage its attack in the densely populated area of Qatar\u2019s capital, located near foreign embassies and schools, which killed <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/10\/who-is-khalil-al-hayya-who-else-was-targeted-in-israels-attack-on-qatar\">five<\/a> lower-ranked members of Hamas, as well as a Qatari Internal Security Force officer.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/9\/israel-attacks-hamas-leadership-in-qatar-all-to-know\">The attack<\/a> has triggered a cascade of anger throughout Qatar\u2019s government, which has condemned it as \u201cstate terrorism\u201d and a \u201creckless criminal attack\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey see this as an act of cowardice and treachery,\u201d Rashid al-Mohanadi, a nonresident fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIsrael\u2019s attempt to assassinate the [Hamas] negotiation team in the country of the mediator shows that the Israelis don\u2019t have any seriousness when it comes to reaching a [ceasefire] settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The attack has not only called into question how Qatar might respond, but also the future of its well-established mediator role, as well as its defence alliances.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis attack will be one of the important historical shocks that will lead Qatar and other GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] states to continue their pursuit of diversified partnerships and [to] further pursue strategic autonomy,\u201d Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"straw-that-breaks-the-camel-s-back\">\u2018Straw that breaks the camel\u2019s back\u2019?<\/h2>\n<p>Qatar will likely leverage its role as a mediator in response to Israel\u2019s attack, as its options are limited, according to Cinzia Bianco, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIts main leverage is to pull back from the role it has been playing for years \u2026 and use that as leverage to say, look, if you [do] not respect the neutrality of mediation, then you can no longer count on us to mediate for this conflict,\u201d Bianco told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>However, Bianco added, this would likely only be useful in pushing the US to act, rather than Israel, which appears to have little interest in agreeing to a ceasefire deal.<\/p>\n<p>Qatar could also use economic pressure against Israel, said al-Mohanadi.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll options are on the table and economic pressure can be imposed on the allies of Israel, namely Europe and the US,\u201d if they do not take serious steps to stop Israel, al-Mohanadi said. Qatar has billions of dollars worth of investments in Europe and the US.<\/p>\n<p>Vakil suggests that Arab states could use their diplomatic influence to urge Western allies to implement effective constraints on Israel\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIsrael has struck seven countries in the Middle East, and hitting Qatar \u2013 I think, [it] could be the straw that breaks the camel\u2019s back for Israel,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Vakil added that the Trump administration might apply more direct pressure on Israel, which is ultimately what Arab states, including Qatar, hope to see to prevent further security threats.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, Qatar has the option of going to the United Nations to diplomatically isolate Israel. An emergency UN Security Council meeting will take place on Thursday in response to Israel\u2019s attack, following requests from Algeria, Pakistan, and other nations, according to diplomatic sources.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Doha also announced the creation of a legal team headed by Qatari diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, \u201cto take all legal measures against the treacherous Israeli attack, considering it an assault on the state\u2019s sovereignty and a flagrant violation of international law, conventions, and norms\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Despite its limited options for a response, in al-Mohanadi\u2019s view, Qatar is unlikely to abandon its mediator role and will continue to push for a ceasefire through the use of multilateral organisations like the UN Security Council.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQatar will never cease to be the mediator, because mediation is literally in [Qatar\u2019s] constitution,\u201d al-Mohanadi said, adding that the attack will only be a \u201cdent\u201d in the role it has assumed in many conflicts for the past decade.<\/p>\n<p>Qatar has served as a mediator in various international conflicts, facilitating peace discussions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, spearheading initiatives to reunite Ukrainian children displaced by the Russian war, and acting as a crucial intermediary in Afghan peace and humanitarian negotiations by hosting talks with the Taliban.<\/p>\n<p>Eleonora Ardemagni, a senior associate research fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), agrees that while there is an \u201cextremely narrow\u201d window for Gaza ceasefire negotiations at the moment, Qatar will continue to play its mediator role. US-Qatar ties, however, have been blighted by the attack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQatar is aware that it can\u2019t become the place where other powers in the region settle accounts \u2013 this is about \u2026 national security,\u201d Ardemagni told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUS deterrence is no longer able to guarantee security for Qatar, as well as for the other GCC states.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The strike, therefore, leaves Qatar in a difficult position when it comes to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/9\/why-does-qatar-host-hamass-political-office\">hosting Hamas\u2019s political leadership<\/a>, said the analysts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think that we are going to see an immediate eviction of Hamas\u2019s leadership \u2013 that would appear to show weakness or [play] into Israel\u2019s hands,\u201d said Vakil.<\/p>\n<p>Qatar will rather look for assurances from the US, given that \u201cQatar supported Hamas with the blessing of the United States many years ago and with the blessing of Israel,\u201d said Vakil.<\/p>\n<p>Qatari officials have repeatedly stated that the decision to host the Hamas leadership came after a request from the US.<\/p>\n<p>In a 2023 opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, the Qatari ambassador to the US, Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani, said that Washington wanted the office \u201cto establish indirect lines of communication with Hamas\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>While the analysts concurred that Hamas leadership would not face immediate expulsion from Doha, Bianco indicated there is a \u201cstrong chance\u201d Qatar will reconsider hosting the group.<\/p>\n<p>Following international backlash after Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Doha had already been evaluating this risk, but chose to maintain the relationship to help resolve the Gaza conflict, she explained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut if the price to be paid is that \u2026 they themselves become targets, I think, [it will] probably no longer [be] worth it,\u201d said Bianco, noting that any relocation would likely be a coordinated, consensual transfer of the group to another location.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"security-diversification-and-soft-power-blows\">Security diversification and soft power blows<\/h2>\n<p>Tuesday\u2019s attack will likely accelerate Qatar\u2019s \u2013 and the broader Gulf countries\u2019 \u2013 pursuit of diversified security arrangements, according to al-Mohanadi.<\/p>\n<p>That could mean building up their own collective defence capabilities or seeking security partnerships with actors like China, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened yesterday was not [just a] breach on Qatar, it was a breach on the entire GCC, which was always off limits,\u201d said the analyst.<\/p>\n<p>The extent of this diversification will hinge on the US response to the attack, he added.<\/p>\n<p>However, as a major non-NATO ally of the US, Qatar\u2019s defence posture changes will likely emerge gradually rather than immediately, Vakil pointed out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are not too many options for Qatar for it to pivot and move somewhere else \u2026 Over the long term, Qatar will look to forge or diversify bilateral and multilateral relationships,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n<p>The analysts predict Gulf countries will unite over shared concerns about regional destabilisation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the Iranian attack against Al Udeid first and now with the Israeli strike on Doha, something has changed in the perception that Gulf leaders have about the future,\u201d said Ardemagni, referring to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/6\/23\/hld-irans-attack-on-al-udeid-air-base-in-qatar-all-you-need-to-know\">Iran\u2019s attack in June on the Al Udeid airbase<\/a> in Qatar, the largest US military base in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a growing sense of Gulf identity and unity vis-a-vis external attacks. I see a rise of patriotism and the sense of [a] national unity \u2026 among Qatari residents and citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While the analysts agree that Qatar\u2019s international investments \u2013 from London real estate holdings to ownership of European football clubs \u2013 will remain unaffected, Israel\u2019s actions have dealt a blow to Qatar\u2019s domestic soft power ambitions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis attack also is an indirect aggression against [Qatar\u2019s] aspiration to become a tourist hub and to hold more international events,\u201d said al-Mohanadi.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Doha, Qatar \u2013 The sight of plumes of smoke in the aftermath of Israeli bombings have become commonplace across the Middle East in recent months \u2013 but in the skyline of Qatar\u2019s glitzy capital, it was wholly unprecedented. Israel\u2019s attack on Doha on Tuesday \u2013 the sixth country it has attacked this year \u2013 appeared &#8230; <a title=\"The price of mediation? How Qatar could respond to Israel\u2019s attack\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2025\/09\/11\/the-price-of-mediation-how-qatar-could-respond-to-israels-attack\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about The price of mediation? How Qatar could respond to Israel\u2019s attack\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}