Senior Israeli Negotiators Recalled from Qatar, PMO Announces

Wednesday, 21 May 2025 | Israel’s negotiators are returning to Jerusalem for consultations after a week of “intensive contacts” in Qatar aimed at securing a hostage deal with Hamas, the Prime Minister’s Office announced on Tuesday night. 

“The senior members of the negotiating team will return to Israel for consultations; the working echelon will, at present, remain in Doha,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in the statement. 

The Prime Minister’s Office noted that while Jerusalem has agreed to a new proposal based on a previous outline by US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, the terrorist group “is continuing to cling to its refusal.” 

The Israeli negotiating team in Doha had been working to exhaust every opportunity to reach an agreement, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday, adding that talks were being held under multiple frameworks. 

The Witkoff outline reportedly envisions a multi-stage deal, beginning with a temporary ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages, followed by reciprocal steps such as the release of Palestinian terrorist prisoners and further negotiations aimed at a permanent cessation of hostilities. 

The renewed diplomatic efforts coincided with the launch of Phase 1 of “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” the next stage in the IDF’s campaign to destroy Hamas’s governing and military capabilities in the Gaza Strip. 

The IDF reported on Monday that it had carried out more than 160 strikes across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, and had expanded its ground activity targeting Hamas infrastructure. 

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said earlier on Tuesday that the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas had stalled, with “deep divisions” preventing possible progress.

 Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Al Thani declared that “the talks are going nowhere,” confirming that weeks of mediation efforts have failed to bridge critical gaps between the two sides. 

Jerusalem reportedly already considered withdrawing its delegation from Doha on Monday due to the lack of progress, but subsequently decided to keep the team in place until now.