Two days after another cease-fire was reached between Israel and Hamas, Qatar made the surprising announcement May 7 that it would be providing a generous aid package of $480 million to the Palestinians. According to the official announcement by the Qatari Foreign Ministry, the money will not be limited to salaries and special projects in the Gaza Strip. It will also include a grant of $300 million for the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank. This is the first time that Qatar is reaching out to the PA, or more precisely, getting a foot in the West Bank. It is also the first time that it has received a thank you from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for its help.

To date, Qatari aid was provided exclusively to Gaza in order to pay salaries to the Hamas bureaucracy and support needy families. This infuriated Israelis, who were sharply critical of what they considered paying protection money to Hamas. But the Qataris were also bothered by Gaza’s reliance on Qatari money. They thought that they had just climbed into bed with a very sick patient. In the end, however, national interests won the day.

The aid package that was recently announced was not something dreamed up in Doha alone; it had partners in the White House and Israel. The Israeli defense establishment — with the support of the political establishment, i.e., Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — made it known to the Qataris that the emirate only stands to benefit from this in the end. It was intended as a package deal, where everyone — Qatar, Israel, Hamas and the PA — would benefit.

As far as Israel was concerned, this was a sharp turn for the wealthy and influential emirate. Until just a year ago, Israel thought of Qatar as a troublemaker, supporting the Muslim Brotherhood; providing sanctuary to Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the spiritual father of the modern-day Muslim Brotherhood; assisting jihadist groups operating in Syria; and supporting numerous terrorist organizations, including Hamas.