The push to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has regained steam as Qatar has returned to the negotiating table and Middle East envoy-elect Donald Trump has begun his diplomatic orientation by calling on top players in the region to meet in the United States. strive to liberate the Still 100 hostages in Gaza.
A source familiar with the ongoing talks confirmed to Fox News Digital that Steve Witkoff, appointed by Trump as his diplomatic envoy to the turbulent region, met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al in late November Thani.
Although the talks between Witkoff and Middle Eastern leaders appear to be an attempt to restart stalled negotiations between Israel and the terrorist organizationany progress after his meetings remains unclear.
Steve Witkoff, founder and CEO of Witkoff Group LLC, speaks during a campaign event with former President Donald Trump, not pictured, at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Sunday, October 27, 2024. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Both agreed that a ceasefire in Gaza is necessary before Trump’s inauguration so that the Trump administration, once it comes to power, can focus on other matters, such as stabilizing the region after a year of war and instability,” said a source. conversations said.
Despite over a year attempt to broker a ceasefire and secure the release of 100 hostages – seven of whom are American and only three are believed to be alive after 425 days of captivity – a US official said Witkoff’s meetings were an attempt to brief him instead of taking concrete steps. steps in advancing the negotiations, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Trump transition team or the White House for details on the ongoing talks, although the White House has kept the Trump transition team informed but not worked directly with the negotiations, according to the Reuters report a ceasefire.
Witkoff, a real estate agent with no prior diplomatic experience and who has business ties to Qatar and other countries in the region, traveled to Israel on November 23, where he met with Netanyahu.
The next day, the director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, David Barnea, traveled to Vienna to meet with Qatar’s prime minister – both of whom played a crucial role in the negotiating talks – where the duo discussed “what it would take to build a to close a deal’. .”
The meetings between US and Israeli officials with Sheikh Mohammed suggest that Qatar has fully resumed its top position at the negotiating table to broker a deal between Jerusalem and Hamas, after Doha halted its involvement last month, citing frustration that neither party was ‘in good faith’. “negotiations.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken (right) and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speak during a meeting at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Hamas was also excluded from Qatar after officials believed the negotiations had devolved into a debate over optics rather than actual peace efforts.
Although senior Hamas leaders involved in the negotiations had left Doha, the office reportedly remained open in mid-November at the request of the US and Israel, Qatar’s prime minister said at a meeting this week. interview with SkyNews.
“Hamas’ presence in Doha was done with full transparency and coordination, at the request of the US and Israel,” Sheikh Mohammed said in response to a question about the criticism the country has received for allowing a Hamas office to operate from his capital operates.
The Prime Minister explained that keeping all lines of communication open through Doha not only secured the exchange of hostages in 2023, followed by the delivery of aid to hostages in Gaza in January 2024, but also remains a crucial ‘channel of negotiation’ regarding future releases of the hostages. which it claims will not be achieved by ‘military force’.
Protesters and family members of hostages taken by Hamas during the militant group’s October 7 attack on Israel protest on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, on the National Mall in Washington, DC. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Trump said on Monday that there will be “hell to pay” if the hostages are not released before his inauguration on January 20, 2025, although he did not indicate what action he will take.
Sheikh Mohammed told the British press that “maximum pressure” is needed all parties called for a ceasefire but said Qatar is working with all parties to try to resolve the Gaza crisis before Trump takes office.
