Qatar, Egypt and Turkey urge Hamas to accept Trump's Gaza peace plan
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Donald Trump (R), alongside Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (L) during a multilateral meeting to discuss the situation in Gaza on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty
Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are urging Hamas to give a positive response to President Trump's proposal for ending the war in Gaza, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks.
Why it matters: The three countries are the mediators with the closest ties to Hamas and primary responsibility for passing messages between the group and Israel and the U.S. Top officials of those countries have met Hamas leaders twice in the last 24 hours.
Driving the news: President Trump said Tuesday that he's giving Hamas three to four days to respond to his proposal.
- "We have one signature that we need, and that signature will pay in hell if they don't sign. I hope they sign for their own good and create something really great," Trump said in a speech before hundreds of generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia.
- U.S. and Israeli officials expect Hamas to give a generally positive response to Trump's proposal, with some reservations.
Behind the scenes: On Monday night, while Trump presented his plan to the world, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad were presenting it to Hamas leaders in Doha, a source with knowledge said.
- Both urged Hamas to accept. Al-Thani advised the Hamas leaders that this was the best deal he was able to get for them and it won't get much better, the source said.
- Al-Thani also stressed that based on his conversations with Trump, he was confident the U.S. president was seriously committed to ending the war. He said that was a strong enough guarantee for Hamas.
- The Hamas leaders told al-Thani they would study the proposal in good faith, according to the source.
State of play: Al-Thani and Rashad met again with Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday, this time along with Turkish intelligence director Ebrahim Kalin.
- Ahead of that meeting, al-Thani told Al-Jazeera he hopes "everyone looks at the plan constructively and seizes the chance to end the war."
- He said Hamas needs to get to a consensus with all other Palestinian factions in Gaza before issuing an official response.
- "We and Egypt explained to Hamas during yesterday's meeting that our main goal is stopping the war. Trump's plan achieves the main goal of ending the war, though some issues in it need clarification and negotiation," the Qatari prime minister added.
Between the lines: While the plan gives Hamas a lot of what it wanted, like the release of 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and a surge in humanitarian aid, it also includes significant concessions — some of which were added at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
- The plan calls for a phased Israeli withdrawal and for Hamas to fully disarm, something it has refused to do up to now.
- Some of the changes on the conditions and timetable for Israel's withdrawal from Gaza infuriated Arab officials, and might be hard for Hamas to accept.
What to watch: Al-Thani said Tuesday that Trump's plan is "still at an early stage and needs development" and stressed more negotiations were needed to turn the principles into something that can be implemented.
- However, Trump said on Tuesday that "there isn't much room" to negotiate further.
- U.S. officials say they're ready to discuss specific Hamas' requests for clarifications or amendments, but won't reopen the whole plan for discussion.
