Source: The Institute for National Security Studies
Author(s): Yoel Guzansky and Ofir Winter
Original Link: https://www.inss.org.il/publication/egypt-qatar/
Recent months have witnessed changes in inter-Arab dynamics in general, and in relations between Qatar and Egypt in particular, which have been tense and even hostile in recent years. Warming relations between Doha and the Arab Quartet (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain), which boycotted Qatar until January 2020, is expected to affect the nature of Qatar’s involvement in the Gaza Strip and its ties with Hamas after Operation Guardian of the Walls – and hence the importance to Israel. This trend gains momentum precisely at a time when there are some in Israel who want to distance Qatar from the understandings toward the arrangement with Hamas taking shape (under Egyptian auspices) in the wake of the operation. The struggle over Qatar’s role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip may emerge as one of the stumbling blocks in the discussions between Jerusalem and Cairo. Moreover, Cairo’s relations with Doha will be a critical variable in shaping Israeli policy toward the Gaza Strip.
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