Qatar invites delegation from Israel
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, October 25, 2006
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Qatar’s offer to play host to the first high-level Israeli delegation to the Persian Gulf in a decade is another sign the oil- and gas-rich emirate wants to boost its status as a regional player.
Qatar is home to Washington’s Mideast military headquarters, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Qatar is believed to be a main conduit of aid to the militant group Hamas and is under pressure from the U.S. to help efforts to bring peace to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli officials said Wednesday that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni tentatively plans to travel to Qatar next week for a U.N. conference on new or restored democracies.
Although Livni would be visiting for an international conference and not for talks with the Qatari government, the trip would be significant. She would be the most senior Israeli official to visit Qatar since then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres traveled there in 1996.
The Israelis hope to enlist Qatar’s help in winning the release of Israeli soldiers held by Hamas and Hezbollah. In the long term, Israeli leaders want to build contacts with moderate Arab states to counter the influence of Iran’s anti-Israel government.
