Qatar is suspending its role in talks between Israel and Hamas

CNN — Qatar is suspending its role as a mediator in talks between Israel and Hamas after concluding that the two sides are no longer negotiating in good faith, its foreign ministry said Saturday. A diplomatic source briefed on the matter told CNN that the Qatari government made the decision after concluding that both sides are now refusing “to engage constructively.” “The State of Qatar notified the parties 10 days ago during the last attempts to reach an agreement, that it would stall its efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel if an agreement was not reached in that round,” Majed Al-Ansari, the spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said in a statement Saturday. “As a consequence, the Hamas political office no longer serves its purpose.” A separate diplomatic source told CNN that Hamas’ political office in Doha “⁠won’t be operational so may leave. Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images The Israeli minister of economy, Nir Barkat, appeared to offer the first official Israeli reaction to the move, saying on X that “Qatar was never a mediator, but Hamas’ defender, the one to fund and protect the terrorist organization.” Netanyahu for years backed payments to Hamas through Qatar, in order to divide Palestinian politics and – detractors allege – prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. The Qatari government has now told the Biden administration that it is willing to restart its mediation efforts “when both sides reach an impasse and demonstrate a sincere willingness to return to the negotiating table with the objective of putting an end to the war and the suffering of civilians.” A senior American official told CNN that while Qatar had played “an invaluable role in helping to mediate a hostage deal” last year, “following Hamas’ repeated refusal to release even a small number of hostages, including most recently during meetings in Cairo, their continued presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable.” Alex Marquardt and MJ Lee contributed to this report.