Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met with the families of six American and Israeli hostages on Saturday in Doha and told them that the assassination of the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri, allegedly by Israel, made it difficult to continue developments on negotiations on a future hostage deal with Hamas, an official briefed on the meeting told Walla.
The meeting in Doha, to which the family members arrived on a direct flight from Israel, was the first time the Prime Minister of Qatar met families of Israeli abductees. The meeting emphasizes the importance that the Qatari government attaches to the issue of the Hamas hostages, yet at the same time the Qatari desire to resist pressure from members of the US Congress and Jewish organizations in the USA.
The hostages’ family members also met with the Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, who heads Qatar’s negotiating team in talks with Hamas and Israel regarding the release of the abductees. Al-Khulaifi was one of the architects of the previous agreement under which over 100 hostages were released in late November.
A senior Qatari official and an Israeli source told Walla that the family members then met with PM Al Thani who heard from them the story of each of their family members who are held captive by Hamas.
During the meeting, Al Thani noted that the current negotiations are very complicated and spoke about the difficulties he encountered in talks with Hamas and in talks with Israel as part of the attempts to reach a new deal, the Qatari official and the Israeli source said.
The Qatari official noted that Sheikh Mohammed indicated to the family members that the latest escalation following the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri made the negotiations difficult. “The prime minister said it was difficult to talk to Hamas because of what happened in Beirut,” the Qatari official noted.
The Qatari official and the Israeli source stated that Al Thani reassured the families that he is personally committed to continuing trying to secure a new deal for the release of the remaining hostages and that he will not give up despite the challenges.
“Qatar deeply understands the suffering of the abductees and their families. We met directly with the families of the abductees to share with them as much information as we could and to assure them that Qatar is committed to using all the means at its disposal to bring about their release. We will continue to be in contact with the families,” said a senior Qatari official.
The Qatari official noted that the most senior officials in the Qatari government are working day and night with Israel and the US to achieve a new deal for the release of hostages.
“Our efforts speak for themselves – the Qatari mediation has so far succeeded in bringing about the release of 110 hostages. But we are only mediators, and we do not control Hamas. We need to preserve the channels of communication (with Hamas) that proved to be effective in the negotiations on the release of the previous hostages. There is more work to be done and we are committed to continue as long as it is necessary,” said the Qatari official.
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