Mossad head visits Qatar to reinforce ceasefire in Gaza

The head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, Yossi Cohen, has visited Qatar on the order of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try to reinforce the ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, local media reported on Sunday. Cohen was accompanied by the Chief of the Israel Defence Forces Southern Command, Major General Herzl Halevi.

According to the Times of Israel and other news outlets, former Foreign and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman claims that the Israeli delegation went on a secret mission to Qatar to ask for the government in Doha to continue making payments to Hamas. Lieberman claimed that the Qataris have said that they will stop sending money “on March 30.” A report in Ynet News claimed that Qatar and Egypt had decided to cut their ties with Hamas, but Netanyahu has asked them to maintain the links.

The feeling in Israel is that if financial support for Hamas from Qatar is cut, then the situation in the Gaza Strip will deteriorate. This, of course, could have implications for next month’s General Election in Israel, especially if the armed conflict flares up.

It was then announced that Qatar has decided to continue its support for the Gaza Strip, which has been under 14 years of a strict Israeli-led siege. Hamas officials thanked Qatar for its continuous support for Gaza and the Palestinian people.

READ: Qatar disburses financial aid for 70,000 families in occupied Gaza