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Mr. Karasik says Qatar came under pressure from the other Persian Gulf countries to change its stance toward Egypt, one of the region’s prominent Sunni states, in the face of the growing strength of the Islamic State of Iraq & Al-Sham, which now controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

At the most recent meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), members agreed to unify their policy, which includes support of Mr. Sisi’s government. Qatar, which also underwrites the Al-Jazeera network, has been pressed by Saudi Arabia and other GCC states to change its policy toward Hamas — which it supports — and improve ties with Egypt.

The change could also affect Israel, which has long criticized Qatar for its support of Hamas.

“Qatar was caught red-handed sponsoring terror and it dealt a blow to their image,” said a senior Israeli official.

“They were quite happy dancing to all of the different fiddles in the region, but now they are at a moment when they need to make choices.”

Israel maintains a close security relationship with Egypt, with which it has had a peace treaty since 1979.

Meanwhile, Iran has increased its support for Hamas and is likely to up funding as well if Qatar reduces its sponsorship.

For Israel, having Qatar closely allied with Egypt would be good news.

“It would strengthen the moderates and might end some sponsoring of terror organizations,” the Israeli official said. “When you look at developments in the region, the emergence of a solid moderate is good not only for Israel, but for the U.S. and Europe as well.”

The Media Line