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QATAR UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES QATAR’S FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT: THE ERA OF SHEIKH HAMAD BIN KHALIFA AL-THANI 1995-2013 BY LUBNA NASER EDDIN A Dissertation Submitted to the College of Arts and Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in PhD in Gulf Studies June 2021 © 2021. Lubna Naser Eddin. All Rights Reserved COMMITTEE PAGE The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Lubna Naser Eddin defended on 19/05/2021. Dr. Mahjoob Zweiri Dissertation Supervisor Dr. Eltigani Rahma Dissertation Co- Supervisor Dr. Amr Al Azm Committee Member Dr. Ioannis Konstantinidis Committee Chair Dr. Sultan Barakat External Examiner Approved: Ibrahim AlKaabi, Dean, College of Arts and Sciences ABSTRACT EDDIN, LUBNA, N. Doctor of Philosophy: June 2021, Gulf Studies Title: Qatar’s Foreign Policy Towards the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The era of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani 1995-2013 Supervisors of Dissertation: Mahjoob, Zweiri. Eltigani, A. Rahma The purpose of this research is to examine the objectives, tools, and features of Qatari foreign policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the reign of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (1995–2013). It also explores to what extent Qatar has overcome its constraints as a small state located between two regional rival powers (Saudi Arabia and Iran) and become an influential player in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ultimately, it analyzes Qatar’s official position towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through utilizing the speeches of Sheikh Hamad and Qatar’s soft power instruments. Since Qatar’s involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was only through its soft power, the theoretical framework of the research is centered around the soft power theory. The research uses a qualitative methodology that employs the case study approach. In collecting the data, the research uses both primary and secondary resources, the former include the speeches of Sheikh Hamad, Qatari government documents, UN resolutions as well as interviews, whereas the latter include books, peer-reviewed journals, internet web sites, research centers’ reports and semi-official newspapers. The data analysis shows that Qatar’s position as a small state located between two large powers prompted it to protect its security by following a hedging strategy. ii The analysis also demonstrates that Qatar’s security dilemma became more pressing after the Gulf War of 1991, Al-Khafus border dispute in 1992, and the coup attempt on Qatar in 1996. Qatar’s involvement in the conflict aims to support Palestinians, advance the peace process and to play a regional role. Qatar has been in support of the Palestinian rights, has demanded the Israeli withdrawal from the 1967 territories, and has promoted the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Additionally, the research finds out that Qatar’s involvement in the conflict is due to several reasons. The first one is protecting its national security and sovereignty. The second reason is Qatar’s solidarity with Arab and Muslim causes. The third reason is playing a regional role through mediation. The research has also demonstrated that Qatar had a great influence on the conflict. This is evident by the role of Al Jazeera in raising awareness of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, the financial aid to Palestinians and mediation between Fatah and Hamas. Al Jazeera is Qatar’s strongest soft power tool. It exposed the Israeli aggression, but at the same time gave a voice to the Israelis on its screen. Financial aid is another soft power tool aimed at elevating the Palestinian suffering, easing the tension between Hamas and Israel and promoting Qatar. However, this tool provides short term solutions. Mediation to wield influence is Qatar’s third soft power tool; however, it didn’t succeed to end the split between Fatah and Hamas. The research also finds out that Qatar’s position towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not always in line with the GCC. Qatar’s stance is also not in line with the small state traditional security strategies. Furthermore, the study finds out that in its involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it is obvious that Qatar’s foreign policy iii has certain features. These are mainly the support of Arabic and Islamic identity, the support of peaceful resolutions and international law, the support of political Islamic movements, visionary, determined and initiative leadership, divergence from the GCC, and Pragmatism. The potential contribution of this research is advancing the debate on the role of small states in regional and international politics and the opportunities and challenges that these states face in their foreign policy and the relationship between security and size. In addition, furthering the research on small wealthy states in the Gulf region and their foreign policy decisions. Moreover, exploring how a small state uses soft power to exert influence and filling a knowledge gap regarding Qatar’s foreign policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the entirety of Sheikh Hamad’s reign. The research is particularly useful for scholars and students of Middle Eastern studies, foreign policy analysis and international relations. iv DEDICATION To my parents, Nadia and Ibrahim For their endless love, encouragement, and prayers v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the following people, without whom I would not have been able to complete this research, and without whom I would not have made it through my PhD degree! First and most of all, I would like to thank my beloved parents for their inspiration, encouragement and support. Special thanks for my beloved husband, Marwan for his unlimited support, advice and guidance. I also would like to thank my children, Kamal, Kayan and Bayan for their love and support. I would like also to express my sincere gratitude to my siblings, Adli, Alaa, Lara, Fadi and Ala’a for their unconditional love and support. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to say big thank you for my supervisors, Dr. Mahjoob Zweiri and Dr. Eltigani Rahma for their dedicated support, continued guidance and overall insights which made this an inspiring rich experience for me. A special and genuine thank you is dedicated to Dr. Abdul Jabbar Said, the Head of the Quran and Sunnah Department at Qatar University, for his support and help in contacting people in Palestine and abroad. My gratitude to Dr. Bashir Al-Shirawi, the former ambassador of Qatar to South Africa for many valuable discussion sessions and provision of scientific material that enriched this work. vi Finally, many thanks to all the professors of the Gulf Studies Department at Qatar University and to all the people I interviewed who have enriched this work. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ............................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................ vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... viii List of Tables ............................................................................................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 Qatar and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ................................................................... 6 Articulating the research problem, questions, and objectives .................................. 12 Research questions ................................................................................................... 13 Research objectives .................................................................................................. 13 Significance of the research ..................................................................................... 13 Dissertation roadmap................................................................................................ 16 Research methodology ............................................................................................. 17 Data collection.......................................................................................................... 20 Primary resources ..................................................................................................... 20 Sheikh Hamad’s speeches .................................................................................... 20 The Qatari government and GCC, Arab, and world agencies .............................. 21 Interviews ............................................................................................................. 21 UN resolutions ...................................................................................................... 22 Data analysis ......................................................................................................... 22 Research ethics ......................................................................................................... 27 viii Literature review ...................................................................................................... 27 Conclusion ...............................................................................................................