Israelis are concerned about the Trump administration’s tightening of relations with Doha as Washington, seeing the Emirate as a key player in ending the Gaza war, is awarding Qatar an air force facility on American soil.

“Today, we’re announcing a letter of acceptance in building a Qatari Emiri air force facility at the Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho,” the secretary of war, Pete Hegseth, announced Friday, sitting at the Pentagon alongside Qatar’s mister of defense, Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.  

The Idaho base will host Qatari F-15 fighter jets and their pilots. American counterparts will train with them, readying them for future combat missions. Mr. Hegseth tied the latest overture to the Qataris to its reported role in pressuring Hamas to agree to President Trump’s 20-point plan of ending the Gaza war. 

Starting with this weekend’s cease-fire and release of all 48 Israeli hostages, negotiations will begin toward the next phases that include the disarming of Hamas and replacing its Gaza ruling officials with non-political Palestinians and a “board of peace” of Arab and foreign technocrats, chaired by Mr. Trump.

If Qatar, which supports the Muslim Brotherhood, and Turkey are involved in the new mechanisms, “Hamas will never be disarmed and it will remain the power that rules Gaza,” an Israeli source tells the Sun. Israelis note that Qatar has long harbored an array of terrorists, including the mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.   

Yet, the Trump administration seems to be betting that by deepening ties with Doha and Ankara it could make Qatar and Turkey exert pressure over the terrorists that these two countries have long supported. In the last two years Qatar, a longtime Hamas backer and host of the organization’s top officials, was widely seen as an advocate of the terrorist group in negotiations under the Biden and Trump administrations.

Last month’s Israeli strike on Hamas headquarters at Doha is seen by some as a catalyst that forced Doha to rethink its strategy. In a September 29 executive order, Mr. Trump vowed that America “shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States.”

The unprecedented agreement, linking American and Qatar in collective defense akin to Article Five of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, irked neighboring Gulf countries. In 2021, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and others ended a five-year embargo against the Muslim Brotherhood-backing emirate, after accusing it of supporting terrorism and undermining neighbors’ rulers though Al Jazeera and other means.  

Mr. Trump’s mutual defense agreement, widely seen as a vow to prevent similar Israeli attacks, was also meant to reassure Doha of protection against a potential Iranian attack against America’s largest Air Force base in the Mideast, at Qatar’s Al Udeid. It was also meant to convince the emirate to lean on Hamas to accept tough provisions in the 20-point plan.  

“You have been a core part of what has unfolded in Gaza, a historic moment,” Mr. Hegseth told Saoud al Thani on Friday. “We’re grateful for the strong partnership that we have, the way you support our troops at Al Udeid.”