Qatar should force Hamas to stand down

And if needed, the US should strong-arm Qatar to use its leverage with the terrorist group. And Israel must agree to a day-after plan. Enough.

Israel’s lack of urgency for reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal is no longer just infuriating; from a Jewish perspective, with the hostages dying in captivity, and with death and destruction continuing on all sides, it’s immoral.

What enables the government to stick to its position is Hamas’ insistence on an Israeli pullout from Gaza in exchange for the 100-odd remaining hostages. The only party that may be able to break this impasse is Qatar — the country hosting the hostage talks that resumed this week.

As I told the Qatari station Al Jazeera (click on the above thumbnail, and see the full interview here), a complete and total paradigm shift is needed. The time has come for Qatar to use its leverage over Hamas, of which it is a major financial backer, to force the terrorist group to stand down. If it does that, the United States will have more leverage to strong-arm the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into doing what must be done, and allowing a renewed version of Palestinian autonomy in Gaza.

The key: Qatar must persuade Hamas to release the hostages it holds and to relinquish control of Gaza, allowing some version of the Palestinian Authority to reestablish governance there.

The Arab state has so far taken something of a neutral role in the conflict, facilitating ceasefire talks without actively changing its position to Hamas. But after a year of war that has seen much of Hamas’ leadership eliminated, tens of thousands killed and large parts of Gaza reduced to ruins, the time has come for Qatar to choose: Will it be an enabler of terror, or a leader for peace?

For years, Qatar has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas in Gaza, under the banner of humanitarian assistance. In effect, it has insulated Hamas from the economic restrictions that Israel and Egypt have otherwise imposed via the blockade of Gaza they’ve maintained since Hamas’ takeover in 2007.