Kerry 2009 Flashback: Qatar Can’t Be an American Ally That Sends Money to Hamas

U.S. Meets With Qatar, Turkey to Extend Gaza Cease-Fire (Wall Street Journal)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Saturday with Palestinian militant group Hamas's two major international backers—Turkey and Qatar—in a bid to forge a longer-term cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Kerry brokered a 12-hour pause in the fighting between Hamas and Israel that went into effect Saturday morning after a week of shuttle diplomacy across the Middle East.

The U.S. diplomat is now seeking to use the break in violence as a bridge to a longer-term cease-fire and a formal negotiation over the future of the Gaza Strip.

"We are hopeful that that can happen," Mr. Kerry said Saturday ahead of his trilateral meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Qatar's chief diplomat, Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah.