Israel's New Approach to Gaza: The Qatar Clou

Actually, it was a normal working meeting: Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with his Cypriot and Greek counterparts in Cyprus at the end of June. Officially, it was about deepening military cooperation. But apparently during his stay Lieberman also met a senior representative of Qatar to discuss the situation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Israeli TV Channel 10 reported last week that Lieberman spoke to Mohammed al-Amadi, the emirate's Gaza envoy. Among other things, the meeting was about security issues and the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Mediterranean enclave that has been blocking Israel and Egypt for years. The Israeli Ministry of Defense did not want to comment on the meeting.

AP

Lieberman with his Cypriot and Greek counterparts

The Israeli news site "Walla" reported this week that Lieberman had actually met a far higher interlocutor in Cyprus: Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar's foreign minister. He is said to have flown in from Italy with a Qatar Airways machine - ID: Amiri A7-MBK. Again, the Israeli Ministry of Defense did not comment. No wonder, after all, both states officially have no diplomatic relations.

Aid deliveries are urgently needed

One thing is clear: Israel's army has repeatedly stressed in recent months that a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is not in its own interests. The pressure for the Islamist Hamas ruling there would not diminish as a result of external pressure and the radicalization of Palestinian youth would increase.

The United Nations is already drawing a dramatic picture of the situation: the fuel that runs 250 hospitals and water treatment plants in Gaza is running low. The urgently needed aid deliveries should not be taken "as a hostage to political developments".

AP

Relief goods are transported by land to Gaza

A lasting solution to the Gaza conflict was not possible after this terror summer, in which there were repeated violent clashes, under Egyptian mediation. Egypt borders the Gaza Strip, blocks it as well as Israel, and traditionally acts as an important mediator between Israelis and Palestinians.

Qatar is too rich to be ignored

The government in Cairo wants to defend this role. Head of State Abdel Fattah el-Sisi strongly opposes Qatar's involvement in the peace negotiations. One reason: Egypt is financially dependent on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both countries, led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, have forged an Arab alliance against Qatar and have been politically and economically blocking the emirate for more than a year.

AFP

Egypt's head of state Sisi visits King Salman in Saudi Arabia

In contrast to Egypt, Qatar is economically strong despite the blockade. The money from the Gulf would be important for the planned Gaza Stabilization Pact. Qatar has been the main foreign lender to the coastal area since Gaza's takeover of Hamas in 2007. Qatar has invested more than 1.5 billion euros there. The flagship project is the "Sheikh Hamad City" in Khan Yunis, a new residential district for more than a thousand families, which was completed in late 2017.

In addition, Qatar is one of the most important political ally of Hamas. After the exile leadership around Khaled Mashal had to escape from Damascus in 2012, she has built her seat in Doha. Since then, the dynasty has had a direct influence on the organization.

Against this background, Israel seems to have decided not to rely solely on the intermediaries from Cairo.

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To improve the tight supply situation in the Gaza Strip, an old plan is apparently being discussed again: the construction of a port. The idea came up already during the Oslo peace negotiations in the early 1990s. But the port is not supposed to be built in the Gaza Strip, but - in Cyprus.

Trump needs Qatar for his "Century Deal"

According to the government in Nicosia Lieberman is said to have asked during his stay a few weeks ago explicitly. The idea is to have goods for the Gaza Strip checked by Israeli security personnel at a specially set up port in Cyprus, and then escort them to the Palestinian coastal area, which is less than 400 kilometers away.

The many practical and financial issues involved have so far remained unanswered - or the answers unknown. Likewise, whether Lieberman has also talked to Foreign Minister Qatar about it. What is certain, however, is that for weeks and months a pendulum diplomacy takes place, in which all countries, which struggle for a peace between Israelis and Palestinians, are involved:

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he met secretly with Egyptian President Sisi in May in Cairo, according to Israeli media sources. Egypt's secret service minister then traveled to Israel a few days ago.
• Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas traveled to Doha in early August and spoke with Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. He, in turn, soon traveled to Turkey, which supports Hamas as well as he.
• And Qatar's foreign minister spoke this week with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo, with Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and with Jason D. Greenblatt, the United States' Middle East Special Envoy.

Qatar hopes that the financial and diplomatic engagement will pay off politically. By making oneself indispensable for a solution of the Gaza conflict, one undermines the blockade of Saudi Arabia. If Donald Trump is serious about his deal with the Israeli-Palestinian century, he needs support from Doha.