Have you heard? Recently, there has been a big news in the Middle East. The United States has set a big problem for Qatar, either to send the Hamas bigwigs away, or to wait and see. This is not a small matter, Hamas is a Palestinian stubble, an old rival of Israel. Now the United States has stepped up and given Qatar a look, meaning: "Dude, you have to take sides." ”
For some background, Hamas, the full name of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, is an organization that has a lot of influence in the Gaza Strip. In 2012, some of Hamas's leaders moved to Doha, Qatar, where they also set up offices.
Qatar, although it is not a big country, has always wanted to play the role of a peacemaker on the big stage of the Middle East.
But now, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has jumped out and said that if Hamas does not reach a ceasefire agreement with Israel, Qatar will have to consider letting them roll up and leave.
As soon as this happened, Qatar was in a dilemma. On the one hand, Qatar has good relations with the United States, and on the other hand, it does not want to offend Hamas, after all, it has been trying to mediate between Palestine and Israel for all these years.
Patrick Siros, the former U.S. ambassador to Qatar, also warned that if this is done, it will be the beginning of a "nightmare" and subsequent negotiations will be in vain.
But you know what, it's not easy. The leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniah, is a man. He has considerable prestige among the Palestinians.
Moreover, this guy has been in trouble at home recently, and his three sons and several grandchildren have been tragically killed in Israeli air strikes. It's not just a political issue, it's a family affair, it's a tragedy.
Speaking of negotiations, ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel have been deadlocked for a long time. Hamas has demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, while Israel is determined to continue its military operations.
Against this background, this hand of the United States has undoubtedly added fuel to the fire.
Moreover, the United States has made a very ruthless move, using the closure of Hamas's office in Doha as a bargaining chip. It's like playing poker, and the U.S. suddenly shows a trump card, and the question is, can this really force the opponent to comply?
There's a lot of drama here. Ali Barak, a senior member of Hamas's political-in-exile leadership, for example, said in an interview with the Financial Times that Hamas did not expect the United States to be so tough.
They expected Israel's reaction, he said, but the United States joining the fight was something they didn't expect.
It's complicated enough. If you think about it, Qatar, Hamas, Israel, the United States, each country has its own calculations, but in the end, it is the innocent civilians who suffer.