\n<\/p>\n
The notion that<\/span> President Donald Trump\u2019s recent push toward a ceasefire in Gaza may have been motivated, in large part, by his failed campaign<\/a> to win<\/a> a Nobel Peace Prize is well-documented<\/a>. Less discussed is Trump\u2019s close relationship with Qatar \u2014 a Gulf state ally where he, his family, friends, and the U.S. have increasingly significant ties.\u00a0<\/p>\n For much of Israel\u2019s war on Gaza, Trump showed little interest in the suffering of Palestinians. Before he was reelected, Trump used the word \u201cPalestinian\u201d as a slur<\/a> meant to insult then-President Joe Biden on the debate stage. In February, as Palestinians in Gaza had just begun to return to their homes amid a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, Trump called for the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza so that he could redevelop it <\/a>into a \u201cMiddle East Riviera.\u201d After Israel breached the Trump ceasefire in March<\/a>, Trump put little overt pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end his war as the death toll mounted.\u00a0Trump didn\u2019t object when Israel attacked Syria,\u00a0Lebanon<\/a>,\u00a0Yemen<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n That changed suddenly after Israeli fighter jets launched 10 missiles at a residential building in the Qatari capital of Doha in early September.<\/p>\n The building in Doha housed Hamas political leaders and their families who at the time were engaged in peace talks with the Qataris serving as mediators. While the Hamas officials survived the attack, the strike killed six people, including a Qatari security official, and injured several others, including civilians.<\/p>\n Trump immediately took to Truth Social to say he was \u201cunhappy\u201d with the Israeli operation and denounced the strike on Qatar, which he called a \u201cclose Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace.\u201d Suddenly, Trump was facing pressure from his allies in the Middle East.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A U.S. ceasefire proposal followed several weeks later, with Trump strong-arming Netanyahu to accept. \u201cHe\u2019s got to be fine with it. He has no choice. With me, you got to be fine,\u201d<\/em> Trump told Axios<\/a>. Prior to the press conference announcing his plan, Trump cornered Netanyahu in the Oval Office and pressed him to apologize over the phone to Qatar\u2019s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani for the September 9 airstrike. A Qatari official reportedly helped write Netanyahu\u2019s apology, along with the White House, and remained in the Oval Office to ensure the Israeli leader stayed on script, according to Politico<\/a>. Trump went on to start the press conference by praising the Qatari leader as a \u201cfantastic person\u201d who \u201cwants peace.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Qatar has long been a key U.S. ally, but since Trump\u2019s reelection, the Persian Gulf nation has forged an especially close alliance with Trump and his inner circle. Qatar has pumped billions of dollars into U.S. companies over the past year \u2014 in many cases enriching companies and business ventures linked to Trump\u2019s family and friends. Meanwhile, it has forged deepening ties with the U.S. military. Whether it was fueled by geopolitics, personal profit, or some mix of the two, Israel\u2019s attack on Qatar appears to have been a spark that spurred Trump into action on Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cIt became quite clear that this really backfired on Israel, that it changed the balance of the debate inside of the administration,\u201d said Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, an expert on the region.<\/p>\n A mere 20-minute drive north along the Qatari coast from the Doha residence that Israel bombed is a new $5.5 billion Trump-branded golf course<\/a> and luxury villa development. In early May, Trump\u2019s son, Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, inked a deal<\/a> with real estate firm Qatari Diar, backed by Qatar\u2019s sovereign wealth fund to launch the project.<\/p>\n That same month, Trump scored an economic deal between the U.S. and Qatar worth $1.2 trillion. Qatar pledged to buy more than 200 Boeing commercial jets and invest billions in energy and tech projects for the U.S.-based corporations McDermott, Parsons, and Quantinuum. It promised to purchase $1 billion in counter-drone technologies from Raytheon and $2 billion in military drones from General Atomics. And to sweeten the pot, the Qatari government gifted the Trump administration with a luxury Boeing jumbo jet<\/a> worth $400 million to be used as Trump\u2019s Air Force One, a present that drew accusations of corruption.<\/p>\n During Trump\u2019s first term, financial ties were more evident with other Gulf states, such<\/a> as Saudi Arabia<\/a> and the United Arab Emirates, often sidelining Qatar due to alleged ties to Islamic militant groups in the region. But Qatar has recently managed to win Trump\u2019s favor after delivering a plethora of financial deals with Trump, his family, and U.S. officials.<\/p>\n In the days following Trump\u2019s reelection, the Qatari government fund, along with the United Arab Emirates, injected $1.5 billion<\/a> into Affinity Partners, an investment firm <\/a>controlled by Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner. (Qatar, has in the past, bailed out<\/a> Kushner from a failed real estate investment in Manhattan.)\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump, Kushner, and Trump\u2019s billionaire friend and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff have wide-ranging investments among Gulf Coast states, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The trio of families reaped a $2 billion cash injection<\/a> from the UAE into Trump cryptocurrency ventures, including one co-founded by Witkoff. Witkoff\u2019s son Zach <\/a>brokered and announced the multibillion-dollar deal in May.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nBusiness Deals<\/h2>\n