Fair point. Also a fair point: Hostage negotiations didn’t go anywhere when Ismail Haniyeh was still alive, either. Could that have something to do with his current room-temperature status?
Still, Qatar’s emir raises the question that immediately emerged in the wake of Haniyeh’s assassination. How will this impact the moribund negotiations to free the hostages and settle the conflict?
The prime minister of Qatar, which has acted as a mediator in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, suggested on Wednesday that the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh could jeopardize efforts to secure a truce in Gaza.
“Political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on other side?” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani wrote on X.
“Peace needs…
