Erdogan calls on Qatar's Emir to increase pressure on Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to step up pressure on Israel, according to a report carried by Indonesia's state news agency Antara. The call centred on the war in Gaza and the wider regional situation, and adds to a series of contacts between Ankara and Doha on Middle East files.

The report did not include a detailed readout of the Emir's reply. Qatar's position is already on the record: Doha has repeatedly called for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, unhindered humanitarian access and an end to the Israeli occupation, in line with international law and the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Qatar's influence rests mainly on mediation. Alongside Egypt and the United States, Doha has spent the past two years brokering negotiations between Israel and Hamas, including the truce and prisoner-exchange arrangements that briefly halted the fighting. That role made Qatar itself a target in September 2025, when Israel struck a residential area of Doha where members of Hamas's negotiating team were meeting. Qatar condemned the attack as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, and the strike drew wide Arab and international condemnation.

Turkey and Qatar have maintained close ties since establishing their Supreme Strategic Committee in 2014. Ankara's own record on Israel, however, has been uneven. Turkish trade with Israel continued through the first months of the Gaza war before Ankara announced a suspension in May 2024.

For Doha, the question is how to apply pressure without undermining the mediation channel that has produced the only negotiated pauses in the conflict. Qatari officials have consistently said they will set their diplomatic course according to Qatar's own assessment of what serves Palestinians and regional stability.