Several media reports and sources have been claiming that the government of Qatar has ordered the leaders of Hamas to leave the country, following pressure from Washington, Financial Times is among those major outlets who are reporting that “The request was made around 10 days ago after intense discussions with US officials, according to one person familiar with the matter.” Wall Street Journal and others have said the same on Saturday…
Hamas leadership has been present in the capital of Doha since 2012. Prior to that it had long been based out of Damascus. But the Assad government booted Hamas after it sided against him and allied with the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda forces during the decade long proxy war in Syria.
The tiny oil and gas-rich Gulf nation of Qatar has been central to on-and-off ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, but these talks have of late been declared completely off. Given that these negotiations have been cut off, and as fighting continues in the Gaza Strip, Washington believes it’s time for Qatar to no longer play ‘neutral’ host nation to the group widely designated as a terror organization by the US and its allies. FT details:
But the talks have since been deadlocked, and Doha was told that after the failure of “repeated proposals to release hostages, [Hamas’s] leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner”, said a senior Biden administration official. “We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas’s rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal,” the official said.
The official added that while Qatar had played a key role in trying to negotiate a ceasefire and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages held by the militant group over the past year, “following Hamas’s repeated refusal to release even a small number of hostages, including most recently during meetings in Cairo, their continued presence in Doha is no longer viable or acceptable”.
Hamas leaders being in Doha has remained an awkward and contradictory arrangement as Qatar is also host to the largest US troop presence in the Middle East. US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) Forward Headquarters is located at Al Udeid Air Base, which can house more than 10,000 American troops. While Qatar’s foreign ministry has confirmed that efforts “to mediate between Hamas and Israel are currently stalled” it also doesn’t appear happy with the pressure campaign coming from Washington to boot Hamas leaders.
There has also been some confusion, despite all the current international reports, over whether Qatar is actually complying with the US demand, In the case of Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been vocal in his support of the group all while fiercely condemning Israel for what Ankara and others have said is genocide being conducted against Palestinians.
Hamas has not been informed they are unwelcome in Doha, the Qatari Al-Araby news outlet reports, citing informed sources. Al-Araby says that information reported by media outlets, including The Times of Israel, is inaccurate.
However, an Arab official tells The Times of Israel that the Al-Araby report is false, calling it a “smokescreen” put on by sources who do not support the decision to oust Hamas. But if and when Hamas does relocate its political headquarters, Turkey or even Iran would be likely fits as the next host countries.
