Qatar has played a key diplomatic role in the ongoing crisis in Gaza. Last month, it mediated a temporary truce and exchange of prisoners between the Palestinian Hamas movement and Israel. Another similar arrangement is on the agenda. This success has occurred against a backdrop of regional shifts. Chief among these changes are the Abraham Accords, the catch-all term for normalization deals between Arab governments and Israel in recent years. But Doha’s unique role has been at least partly a result of having rejected normalization, at least under current conditions.

Qatari mediation on Gaza

Qatar’s mediator role has long been established. Doha has been an interlocutor for Iran and the US, and even Venezuela and the US. In the months after the Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel by Hamas—and the subsequent Gaza war—this role has been further highlighted. Qatari efforts to stop the violence in Palestine have involved dozens of high-level meetings with rival powers such as...