Edan Alexander’s family have confirmed he will not be flying to Qatar after being released from Gaza.
American-Israeli Alexander, 21, came home yesterday after 538 days in Hamas captivity, during which he was reportedly kept chained in underground tunnels and regularly tortured.
It had been reported that, after he was freed, he would travel to Qatar to meet Donald Trump while the US President tours the Gulf states this week.
Alexander, a diaspora IDF volunteer originally from New Jersey, himself credited Trump with securing his release, after it was negotiated directly between Hamas and Washington. Israel was not informed of the deal until it had been approved.
Buthe reports had caused concerns among Israelis given the longstanding allegations from Jerusalem that Qatar helps to finance terror. The emirate is also home to much of Hamas’ senior political leadership in exile from Gaza.
However, the Alexander family have now confirmed that Edan will not be travelling in the near future.
"His medical condition requires that he rest,” they told Channel 12.
Instead, he will hold a phone call with Trump later today before travelling to the US to meet the president in person at a later date.
It comes as Trump is due to land in Saudi Arabia to kick off his regional tour this morning. Over the coming days he will stop off in Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi – but will not visit Israel.
The Washington Post yesterday cited a senior Trump official joking that a face-to-face with Netanyahu was unnecessary this time as the Israeli leader has already visited Washington “700 times” since November’s presidential election.
But bilateral talks with the Gulf has exacerbated concerns that the Trump administration is willing to make major regional deals without Israel in the room. Indeed, it was reported yesterday that Saudi officials are “optimistic” that they can secure Trump’s backing for a peace plan including US recognition of a Palestinian state and an end to the Gaza War.
Riyadh and Washington are also working on agreeing a civil nuclear deal, allowing the Kingdom to export enriched uranium and free up profitable crude oil reserves. Significantly, Trump has reportedly dropped normalisation with Israel as a pre-condition for any such agreement.
