The real estate attorney turned diplomat highlighted Qatar’s role in the mediation of Israel’s war on Gaza while echoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s position.

Qatar’s efforts to promote regional peace and stability through mediation is not credited enough, United States Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson that premiered on Saturday, Witkoff repeatedly hailed the Gulf state’s efforts as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, which paused 16 months of Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip, while maintaining Donald Trump’s controversial stance.

“They are good decent people,” Witkoff said of the Qataris. “What they want is an effective mediation that gets to a peace goal. Why? Because they are a small nation and they want to be acknowledged as a peacemaker.”

Disinformation campaigns

Trump’s special envoy also touched on the smear that Qatar has been receiving following October 7, 2023, emphasising that Qataris are “good people” who could be trusted. He also mentioned that Qatar pays entirely for the Al-Udeid Air Base, the U.S.’s largest in the region.

The Gulf state has been subject to multiple disinformation campaigns from Israeli and Western officials, as well as the media, after Israel started its genocide in Gaza.

In an interview earlier this month with Carlson, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani condemned the efforts to demonise his country’s efforts, adding that such acts were “harming the region” as well as the United States.

Witkoff also brushed aside accusations of him being used as Qatar’s “tool” in the mediation process, which Sheikh Mohammed had also dismissed.

“I’ve had a couple of experiences where first I was attacked as being a pro-Qatar sympathiser. Qatar is a mediator here not they’re not a party to the conflict,” Witkoff said.

Qatar’s track record in mediating conflicts as well as its recent involvement in trying to bring conflicting parties to the same table has made Doha a good partner, Witkoff added.

The envoy also went on to say that Qatar’s “little radical Islamist views” continue to draw criticism, with some accusing it of acting as Iran’s agent and fueling disinformation. However, he claimed those views have since “moderated quite a bit”, and Qatar is now a key U.S. ally, as evidenced by the January 15 ceasefire deal it helped mediate with the U.S. and Egypt.

Israel has, however, started attacking the besieged strip after the first of the three-phase ceasefire ended on March 1, after refusing to enter talks on the second and third phases.

Qatar PM ‘decent human being’

Shortly before Israel resumed its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, Witkoff was in Doha where he met with Sheikh Mohammed, who he described as a “special man”.

“I have spent a lot of time and broken bread with him. He’s just a good decent human being who wants what is best for his people but also can put himself in the shoes of the Israelis, as well as the United States to understand where each of them is coming from,” he told Carlson.

Sheikh Mohammed was entrusted with communicating with Hamas representatives and getting the deal over the line, which he accomplished, according to Witkoff.

“If I didn’t trust the Qataris then that would be problematic not meeting with Hamas,” the envoy said, claiming he had never been in the same room with Hamas representatives.

During the interview, however, Witkoff also praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming the killing of senior Hamas leadership and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah paved the way to achieve the fragile ceasefire.

He echoed Trump’s position on Gaza, supporting the President’s reconstruction plan and stressing that the “complete demilitarisation of Hamas” is essential for a lasting solution.

Contrary to the reconstruction proposal that the Arab Summit in Cairo presented, Trump has insisted on U.S. control over the Gaza Strip, and turning it “Riviera of the Middle East” after removing the remaining Palestinians.

“In that region, you have young leadership […] who don’t have the old sensibilities, who want to do business and realise Trump’s way is people vote,” Witkoff said. “They understand he [Trump] wants to bring the bacon home to the United States. Everybody’s bought into that over in the GCC.”