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The Qatari government is quite an schizophrenic institution. The Emir of Qatar is one of the region's most progressive leader who has allowed for some degree of democracy and the royal family is not plagued by drunk and uncouth free-spending princes as in the House of Saud.
The government has friendly relations with Iran, the Palestinian Islamists of Hamas, and the Lebanese Shia party-cum-militia Hezbollah; all the while hosting an American naval base and maintaining cordial contact with Israel.
Qatar is the only Gulf nation to have official, albeit not recognition, relations with Israel. The fact that it would be Qatar is odd given that the nation is the biggest champions of the Palestinians in the Gulf as opposed to, say, Saudi Arabia which downplays the occupation of Palestine in its subservience to America.
During Israel's genocidal attack against the Palestinians in Gaza - an attack that killed over 900 Palestinian civilians of whom over 400 were children - Qatar closed its Missions Office in Tel Aviv and required Israel to do likewise in Doha.
But relations seem to be repairing and for no apparent reason given that since Gaza Israel elected a far-right government that continues to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Jerusalem, build illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, blockade Gaza and has threatened war against Iran that would destabilize Qatar's region.
So why has Qatar reached out to Israel again? Your guess is as good as mine. It is not going to engender some goodwill on behalf of Israelis that will lead them to respecting Palestinian rights, that's for sure. This trip is unfortunate since it gives Israel the legitimacy its wants without tying such acceptance with gains for the Palestinians. It is little wonder the U.S. has given up pressuring Israel. If Arab governments are submissive, why should then the U.S. even bother? The recent visit of Peres is unexpected and the domestic have been prevented from covering it.
The collective voice of the Arab people - al-Jazeera - is financed by the Qatari government and has equally been silenced on Peres' trip. While the Emir welcomes Peres, his own network continues to preach resistance against Israel and no acceptance of the state; and calls Arabs who meet with Israeli officials collaborators.
Schizophrenic.
