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Within days of Donald Trump being elected as the 47th President of the United States of America, things are changing fast in the Middle East, and there are new developments in the conflict between Israel and Gaza that could expedite a resolution of the war. 

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Qatar has been a critical player in the past year by facilitating hostage negotiations but also by harboring the Hamas leaders who have resided in their country even before the war, living in luxury off of millions of dollars of aid money given by the UN and UNWRA.

Now, after over a year of playing soft politics with Biden, the Qataris want out. This should come as no surprise as it was reported here at RedState that a mere three days after the election results came in showing Trump’s victory, Qatar announced they would be ousting the terrorist leaders from their country— something that should have been done right after Oct. 7 if they were indeed were a good faith partner. 

‘Trump Effect’: Qatar Reportedly Makes Huge Move Regarding Hamas’ Leaders

Biden had many chances to apply pressure over the past year. Given the egregious crimes of Oct. 7, it wouldn’t be unthinkable to expect that any country wishing to have good standing with the United States should have immediately distanced themselves from the terrorist leaders. Qatar hosts a major U.S. Air Force base. Furthermore, when the Hamas leaders repeatedly rejected every ceasefire offer, even generous ones that disadvantaged Israel, Biden should have insisted that Qatar expel them to apply more pressure. We will never know if the hostages would already have been home or if American Hersh Goldberg would still be alive had our president applied more pressure. 

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Within days of Trump’s election victory, he had already spoken with Netanyahu of Israel, Erdogan of Turkey, and Zelensky of Ukraine. It is no coincidence that Qatar made the decision now and not before, and a phrase started floating around the internet— “The Trump Effect.” 

The current administration wouldn’t accept that, of course, and quickly after, it was reported that they were the ones that asked Qatar to expel the leaders weeks ago, before the election results. If true, President Biden, who we hardly even hear from nowadays, has magically grown a backbone and figured out that wishful thinking won’t end this war. Next, we will find out that the tooth fairy exists. 

One perception is that Biden may have forced the Qatari’s hand now because he wants a peace deal before January to avoid Trump getting the praise for ending the war. A better way to avoid that would have been to end it months ago by doing what needed to be done. 

As of now, Hamas is denying that they have been given an eviction notice. It is unclear where they will relocate to. Iran is an option, but given that their leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Iran, they might not feel safe there. Turkey is another likely option, which makes the phone call Trump had with Erdogan even more important. 

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Hamas as an organization is hanging on by a thread itself. Their senior leadership have all been eliminated. Without the protection of Doha, they will be even more vulnerable.

According to the European Council of Foreign Relations, “Hamas has adopted a temporary model of collective leadership to mitigate the effect of future Israeli assassinations”.

H A Hellyer, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), told the BBC that nowhere “will give them protection from Israeli assassination attempts in the same way that being in Doha, where America has its largest military base in the region, did”.

If Qatar no longer handles negotiations, this also presents a problem of how a further ceasefire deal will be negotiated. In truth, it may not matter because Hamas rejected every single offer made to them. In the last offer made, Israel only asked for four hostages in exchange. Even that was rejected. Qatar says they want to see “sincere willingness” from both parties to return to the negotiating table. There is not much more Israel can do, nor should they when they are winning this war. 

At the RNC in July, Trump made a clear statement:

“And the entire world: I tell you this. We want our hostages back, and they better be back before I assume office or you will be paying a very big price.”

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The Qatari’s actions could show that they take his words seriously. With President Trump in charge, we may not need a new negotiator.