How Qatar swayed Israel and Hamas to make a truce work

DOHA, Nov 30 (Reuters) – As world leaders feted Qatar for brokering a truce between Israel and Hamas last week, its negotiators doubled down on their mediation efforts, fearful the ceasefire was about to collapse before it started.

The truce and the agreement for accompanying prisoner and hostage exchanges were loosely worded. The tiny Gulf state’s negotiators knew Israel and Hamas had yet to agree on when, or how, the ceasefire and the swap would begin, according to sources in Qatar, the Palestinian Territories and Egypt familiar with the high-stakes talks.

It was necessary to clarify all the points in the agreement and make sure they meant the same thing to Israel and Hamas, a source briefed on the negotiations said.

For example, the Israeli side had pledged to “park” tanks it was using inside the Gaza strip, but nobody had agreed on what that meant on the ground, said the source, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the talks.

One of Qatar’s lead negotiators, career diplomat Abdullah Al Sulaiti, was worried. “I thought we were going to lose it and that the agreement wouldn’t fly,” he said in an interview.

To remain focused, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh…