Unless Hamas thinks it knows something nobody else does, it seems to continue picking the losing side... you'd think after the last 2.5 years they would wisen up a bit and choose to back Qatar (Iran has shot missiles and drones at Qatar since the war began), if nothing else, who hosts and funds them, while seeing Iran  being decimated. But no, they choose Iran in a fight that may end Iran as it has been known for the last 47 or so years and will at best likely no longer be able to back Hamas, angering their hosts and currently biggest benefactors.

Qatar let Hamas leadership continue to function and operate on its soil after and despite the October 7th attack and massacre, after and despite the decimation it brought upon Gaza, after and despite the decimation it caused all around the Middle East... but now that they did not condemn the Iranian attack on Qatar (which was not even successful) they have crossed the line and deserve to finally be expelled...

Truth is this announcement they made last night confused me. Back in November of 2024 Qatar also announced they would expel Hamas leadership. The reasons had something to do with refusing a ceasefire agreement, though similarly, that was far from the worst thing they had done so I am not sure of everything why that was the catalyst for being expelled... That being said, if they were already expelled in 2024, how is Qatar expeling them again now in March 2026?

I tried to do a little bit of research about this expeling of Hamas leadership and did not really find much information. We knew then that the intention was for Hamas leadership to relocate to Turkey. There were reports that they actually relocated to Turkey and it was not just an intention. 

I cannot seem to find any reports after November of 2024 that say anything about them leaving Turkey and returning to Qatar, so I am wondering when this happened, and what it means to expel Hamas leadership after they were already expelled. Did they ever really leave Qatar? Will they really expel Hamas now or will it be done the way it was done in 2024 with a wink and a nod?

Basically, Qatar saying they will expel Hamas is almost meaningless. Let us know when you actually expel them. And, even if Qatar does expel them, will Qatar contineu to fund them or will the funding also be cut off? If Hamas loses Iran as a sugar daddy because of this war and also loses Qatar, that would be massive. 

When negotiating a deal, both sides have to be incentivized to agree to it - each side has to feel like it is gaining something, getting what it needs, to be able to agree.

President Trump announced a deal on the way and Israel went and negotiated with Trump to make sure certain clauses and terms would be included so Israel could live with it. PM Netanyahu has said he accepts it because Israel's concerns are taken care of in this arrangement and can live with Hamas being exiled or whatever specifics arent exactly what Israel wanted. Fair enough.

And now we wait for Hamas to "study the proposal" and return with a response.

What in this deal, or in any deal, is included that would make Hamas agree to it and feel they got something they want and need? 

From a negotiations perspective why should or would Hamas accept this deal, or any deal Israel agrees to? Any deal Israel agrees to basically does away with Hamas. Why would they ever agree to that? What has any of these deals offered Hamas as incentive to agree? All these deals have been win-lose from Hamas perspective. Technically it is a good deal (maybe) for the people of Gaza but Hamas doesn't care about that - what is there that would encourage Hamas to agree to this and that they can see as being beneficial to them?

Offering a deal that has no chance of being accepted by the other side because it offers them nothing beneficial is not really a solution. Maybe just saying we won't kill them all but will let them leave is enough for them, though we know that so far that has not been enough.

Please explain. I get why this is a good deal from our side, but why do we think would Hamas ever agree to that? Maybe it is enough that Qatar might pressure them to. Maybe not

Meaning, an Israeli I want us to win and not Hamas and come out of this on top. But if we are offering them a deal, what's the point if we are not offering them something they can point to as a win for them? They simply wont accept it.

I dont know about all that. The apology definitely does not bother me. That is diplomacy. Netanyahu is beholden to President Trump, Israel's last supporter, he has to do what Trump wants, and that is what Trump needs to have any chance of getting this deal underway. The apology does not bother me. This is a small price to pay to have any chance at all to get the deal underway.

Netanyahu tried to convince the Israeli people the operation in Qatar was not a failure saying Hamas now knows they can't hide and are not safe anywhere. And he said explicitly that he would strike again if and when the opportunity presents itself. I think today's apology and commitment to not attack again contravenes that.

I am good with Netanyahu making this deal. Israel is strong and can handle and deal with any and all of the points that will be finalized and agreed upon. I have thought this all along with other deals on the table at other times and think it now. Those attacking it from the Left are somewhat hypocritical, those attacking it from the Right are not hypocritical but those on the Right making and supporting the deal that is similar in many aspects to the deals they refused to consider all along for ending the war are hypocritical too. For many on the Left, whatever Bibi says is bad even if they supported it all along and it matches their own agenda. For many on the Right whatever Bibi says is great even if just yesterday they criticized the very thought of it and it was supposedly the polar opposite of their agenda. 

For those saying it will allow Hamas to perpetrate another October 7, that means they are planning to abandon Israel's borders again and leave them defenseless. Israel is strong enough to protect its borders if it wants to (of course with God's help). We are only at risk of another October 7 if we go back to the old policies of letting Hamas do whatever it wants in exchange for some sense of quiet. Make the deal that is reasonable, end this too-long-war and get back the remaining hostages,, and rehab the country.

So Qatar is not just hosting Hamas but also representing Hamas now? What does that say about Qatar?

And, where have they been all along? Why have they not made Hamas accept deals until now? Why has pressure not been exerted on Qatar previously to bring any proposed deals to agreement?

As Amit Segal pointed out, it is ironic and crazy that he will immediately fly to Qatar and meet with the sponsors of Hamas who took and held him hostage.

It is not strange that he is going to meet with Trump, and since Trump seems to not be coming to Israel on this trip Alexander will fly to him instead. Meeting the Emir of Qatar is strange. Perhaps it is simply because he is going to Qatar to meet Trump so that makes meeting the Emir inevitable and maybe unavoidable.

That being said, I hope he takes the opportunity to tell them what he went through, describe the conditions of his captivity, and plead with them to pressure Hamas to release the rest of the hostages.

This past week as Qatargate stepped up a level found people debating whether Qatar is an enemy of Israel or not. People who used to say Qatar is an enemy State are now saying Qatar is complex or Qatar is complicated but not an enemy. People who previously did business with Qatar are now saying Qatar is a hostile entity or an enemy of Israel.

To me the question of whether Qatar is an enemy of Israel or not is besides the point. Pointing out the fact that Qatar is one of the main financiers, if not THE main financier, of Hamas, is beside the point.

I dont think anyone other than the State of Israel should be funding salaries in the Prime Ministers Office, or any other government office or Ministry. Not even Israel's greatest friends and allies in the world. If I heard the USA was paying the salaries of the aides of Israel's Prime Minister, I would think that is a problem. If I heard Hungary was paying the salaries of aides of the Defense Minister of Transportation Minister, to me that would be a serious problem. 

In my mind it does not matter, for this issue, if Qatar is an enemy or not - no foreign entity should be paying the salaries of people in the government (Knesset included) of Israel. If Qatar is an enemy state that makes it worse, but if they are not an enemy it is still not ok.

The government has been pretty busy at times over the past year getting upset (even to the point of passing laws about this) that foreign money is funding leftist protest movements in Israel and anti-government activity, when it turns out that foreign money was also funding people in the government itself.

Word of advice, maybe pro tip: one way, maybe the best way, to improve your image would be to stop being one of the main sponsors of terrorism, and more specifically stop funding, hosting, and sponsoring Hamas.

Back to our topic, so one of the aide's of PM Netanyahu was also working for Qatar.

And this is after two other aides of Netanyahu had previously (and still? not sure) worked for Qatar.

Maybe there are more that we have not yet discovered.

 

I do not know what Israel's response was, or if Israel responded at all, but if Israel were to respond I would hope and expect that Israel would refuse to give any such commitment.

No report was included as to what Qatar is offering in exchange for such a commitment, so why commit to this? Qatar hasnt given Israel anything other than time for Hamas, so they should consider taking a hike.

And, if the recent reports are true that Qatar has banished Hamas leadership from its country, why does it have to continue to worry about what Israel might do to the Hamas leaders in Qatar - arent they no longer there?

Hey,, I guess it cant hurt to ask... as they say, you miss 100% of the shots you dont take...