Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump recently organized a private meeting in New York last Wednesday with Qatar’s prime minister and a bipartisan group mostly of Jewish businessmen and billionaires as per Axios.
It has been noted that Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has been a key player in mediating talks between Israel and Hamas during their ongoing war — especially negotiations over the talks over on the issue of release hostages held by the terrorist group in Gaza.
The outlet noted that those who attended the meeting said the Qatari prime minister spoke about his country’s efforts to release the hostages in Gaza and answered several questions about Qatar’s relationship with Hamas.
Sheikh Mohammed also was the leading point of contact for the Trump and Biden administrations on Afghanistan for several years when Qatar hosted a Taliban office.
Kushner and the Qatari prime minister became close during the Trump administration, when they led negotiations on ending a rift between Qatar and other Arab nations in the Persian Gulf. The agreement to end the crisis was signed two weeks before Donald Trump left the presidency.
The Qatari prime minister was in New York to speak at a UN Security Council meeting on the crisis in Gaza, alongside several other Arab foreign ministers.
He arrived there during the negotiations to extend the ceasefire in Gaza in return for Hamas agreeing to release more women and children it has held hostage since the terror group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Qatar has been under increasing pressure and scrutiny by members of Congress and Jewish organizations over the nation’s relationship with Hamas.
While expressing appreciation for Qatar’s role in mediating the deal to secure the release of more than 100 hostages so far, the Biden administration and the Israeli government are signaling they’ll press Qatar on the issue after the war ends.
Qatar, meanwhile, is increasing its lobbying efforts in Washington, concerned that Hamas’ attack on Israel from Gaza — an enclave Qatar has helped to support— could damage Qatar’s standing with the U.S. and particularly with Congress.
