Biden tells emir of Qatar: Put pressure on Hamas to accept hostage deal - Israel is ready

Expert: Qatar likely believes Hamas will stay on ‘day after’

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U.S. President Joe Biden urged the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, to increase pressure on Hamas leaders to accept the comprehensive plan Biden presented on Friday to end the war.

In a phone call between the two leaders on Monday, Biden assured Al-Thani that Israel was ready to move ahead under the terms he presented while noting that Hamas was “now the only obstacle to a complete ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza,” according to a readout released by the White House.

Biden “urged Amir Tamim to use all appropriate measures to secure Hamas’ acceptance of the deal,” the statement read.

Israel has now offered a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire – and the release of all the hostages.

Yesterday, this proposal was transmitted by Qatar to Hamas.

Today, I want to lay out its terms for the world. pic.twitter.com/0cdypBP9wb
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 31, 2024

In a televised speech last Friday, the president presented an Israeli proposal that was sent to Hamas. The outline included three phases for the deal, totaling 42 days and starting with a ceasefire, which Israel had so far rejected.

Qatari and Egyptian mediators said Hamas sent “positive signals” after the speech but hasn’t yet officially agreed to resume the deadlocked negotiations.

Despite reports that Qatar was considering expelling Hamas leaders from its capital Doha, the Gulf State so far doesn’t seem to have increased the pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal.

“From the beginning of the war, Qatar presented itself as an effective mediator, and it continues, through all the changes, to preserve this narrative,” Ariel Admoni, an Israeli expert on Qatar, told ALL ISRAEL NEWS.

“This time it has an additional interest in bringing results because it will prove its relevance to the question of the ‘day after’ which, at least in terms of Washington, is taking shape.”

“However, due to their support for Hamas, if there has been any Qatari pressure on Hamas so far, it has mostly been done behind closed doors and by threats of deportation that were not imminent. So far we have not seen a drastic change in attitude, probably out of the belief that Hamas will stay on the day after, and therefore, it pays for Doha to continue to host and maintain ties with it,” Admoni explained.

While Hamas leaders in exile, mainly based in Doha, are interested in a diplomatic solution to the war to ensure their control over Gaza, the local leadership under Yahya Sinwar is reportedly increasingly confident in its ability to outlast the war, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

According to the report, Sinwar told mediators he is in “no hurry” to end the war, as he prefers to prolong the fighting and thus deepen Israel’s isolation on the world stage while strengthening support for the Palestinian cause.

On the Israeli side, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately declared: “The notion that Israel will agree to a permanent ceasefire before [its] conditions are fulfilled is a non-starter.” During a Knesset session on Monday, he said there were “gaps” between Biden’s plan and the Israeli proposal.

In response, White House Spokesman John Kirby assured that “this is an Israeli proposal and the president characterized it accurately.”

International reactions to Biden’s speech were overwhelmingly positive, with the leaders of the G7 countries releasing a statement on Monday endorsing the deal.

“We call on Hamas to accept this deal, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and we urge countries with influence over Hamas to help ensure that it does so,” the statement said.

The prime minister is under pressure at home, meanwhile, as two right-wing ministers have threatened to leave the coalition if Netanyahu accepts the deal, a move that would bring down the government.