(Jose Nino, Headline USA) Released Justice Department documents reveal Jeffrey Epstein pressured Qatar to recognize Israel during the 2017 Gulf blockade as a way to gain favor with President Trump, according to Reuters.
During the 2017 to 2021 blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, Epstein inserted himself into the Gulf crisis by exchanging messages with Sheikh Jabor Yousuf Jassim Al Thani, a Qatari businessman and member of the ruling family. In those exchanges, Epstein urged Qatar to normalize ties with Israel.
The most striking email, dated July 9, 2017, reads “If the people would allow your country to recognize Israel. ,could be interesting to discuss. If not maybe consider putting 1 billion into a fund to benefit the victims of terrorist acts. asking the other gcc members to match it,” as the Middle East Eye reported.
Epstein used India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a model for Qatar, writing “The Indian Prime Minister Modi took advice. and danced and sang in Israel for the benefit of the US president. they had met a few weeks ago.. IT WORKED.!”
Epstein dismissed Qatar’s leadership, calling the team “very weak” and the foreign minister “not experienced,” and urged Doha to stop “kicking and arguing” and let tensions cool. Qatar’s then foreign minister was Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who now serves as both prime minister and foreign minister. He has not commented publicly on these characterizations.
Beyond the Qatar push, the files reveal Epstein conducted extensive track two diplomacy in the region. He brokered a meeting between former Israeli PM Ehud Barak and former Qatari PM Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani in December 2018 at One Hyde Park in London. Barak later thanked HBJ for the meeting in an email copied to Epstein.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used the revelations to attack political rival Ehud Barak, writing on X “Jeffrey Epstein’s unusual close relationship with Ehud Barak doesn’t suggest Epstein worked for Israel. It proves the opposite.” He accused Barak of “obsessively attempting to undermine Israeli democracy by working with the anti-Zionist radical left.”
The most concrete consequence as a result of the Epstein files release in the Middle East has been corporate. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, CEO of Dubai port giant DP World, resigned after his name appeared in the files alongside exchanges with Epstein. British International Investment and Canada’s Caisse de dépôt pension fund suspended all new investment with DP World over the revelations, per a report by The Palestine Chronicle.
Qatar never followed Epstein’s advice. It maintained its independent course throughout the blockade, and the blockading countries restored relations with Doha in 2021.
