Qatar's step back from hostage negotiations will only serve as inconvenience

Hostages, like my son Itay and the other 101 hostages who are held captive in Hamas dungeons, remain secondary still.

By RUBY CHEN NOVEMBER 15, 2024 13:37

ITAY CHEN is flanked by his parents at his high school graduation. (photo credit: Courtesy Chen family)

While Qatar evicting Hamas leaders is a necessary step – no country should harbor terrorists –the impact will serve mainly as an inconvenience. 

Hamas’s main leadership in Doha will simply relocate and continue operations as usual. It will be the same terrorist group with a different mailing address but the same bank account.

Why won’t it matter? As in most cases, one simply has to follow the money.

It won’t make a difference because, in large part, the global financial network supporting Hamas remains intact. 

“Charity organizations” operating out of Turkey, financial backing from Iran and Kuwait, and other shadowy funding sources have not been, and will not be, affected by Qatar’s decision. 

SHOULD THE Qataris, who host Hamas leaders and fund the terrorist group with millions of dollars, be trusted? (credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)

The money Hamas relies on to fund its terror, pay its operatives, and rebuild its infrastructure in Gaza will continue to flow.

Without seriously disrupting Hamas’s financial network, diplomatic efforts won’t accomplish enough to address the ongoing threat. 

The real issue is dismantling the global infrastructure of resources and financial networks that fuel Hamas’s ongoing operations.

Having said that, there are likely several reasons behind Qatar’s alleged decision, including diplomatic pressure from Israel and the US, but I believe that the main motivation behind it was indeed, as the Qataris stated, that both Hamas and Israel have not made a hostage deal a priority and Qatar does not wish to be further blamed for the failed deal.

I believe that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu felt that freeing all the hostages was a top priority, both morally and strategically for Israel, given the victory of the military operations in Gaza, a deal could be signed in days.

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Hostages not on list of priorities 

Unfortunately, other objectives are taking precedence.

Hostages, like my son Itay and the other 101 hostages who are held captive in Hamas dungeons, remain secondary. 

As a US citizen, I believe the US election’s decisive outcome presents a window of opportunity that should not be missed. 

President-elect Trump has a proven track record of caring and succeeding in freeing hostages. Now is the time for the Biden administration to bring in their successors to the National Security Council and CIA and state that the hostage issue is a bipartisan issue that cannot wait till January 20. 

The teams should immediately work together and force a deal for the release of all the hostages, the return of Israeli citizens to their homes, and an end to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

We call on all of you who believe there must be a deal to show your presence this coming Tuesday evening and every Tuesday evening at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to pray and sing with us, together with religious leaders, for the well-being and release of all the hostages.

The writer is the father of Itay Chen, a 19-year-old Israeli-American held by the Hamas terrorist organization. Ruby and his wife, Hagit, live in Israel with their two other children. www.bringitayhome.com