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Qatar and Egypt inching towards reconciliation following meeting
Following a weekend meeting, Egypt and Qatar look set to repair relations which were severely damaged following Qatari support for the Muslim Brotherhood. The reconciliation could have regional implications, including on Hamas.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with an envoy of the Emir of Qatar in Cairo at the behest of Saudi Arabia. At the end of the meeting, al-Sisi said that he “looked forward to turning the page on past differences.” A similar Saudi statement said it supports “opening a new page between the two countries.”
The rapprochement comes several weeks after the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council mended a rift with Qatar, which had seen Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates recall their ambassadors from Qatar in March. The Gulf states were unhappy over Qatar’s support for Islamist groups, including Hamas, but in particular for the Muslim Brotherhood which was ousted by al-Sisi in Egypt in 2013. Egypt and the Gulf states view Islamist groups as a threat to their stability. Egypt has also been irked by the Qatari-backed Al Jazeera television station, which is highly critical of al-Sisi’s government.
A Qatari reconfiguration could have a significant regional impact. Qatar had allied itself with Turkey in an effort to undermine Egyptian authority, especially over brokering a ceasefire in Gaza during the summer. A Qatari-Egyptian détente could leave Turkey increasingly isolated. Warmer Qatari relations with Egypt and Saudi Arabia also indicates a further distancing from Iran, which is perceived as vying with Saudi Arabia for regional hegemony.
In addition, Qatar has in recent years been an important financial backer for Hamas. However, Egypt considers Hamas a close ally of the Muslim Brotherhood and effectively an enemy of the state. Qatar is thought to have reduced its support for Hamas lately. This may also explain the claim by Hamas’s representative in Lebanon on Friday, that the group has “opened a new chapter” in relations with Iran, which had cooled over Hamas’s refusal to back Syria’s President Assad.