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Qatar has asked Hamas leaders to leave the country after pressure from Washington, in a significant shift in policy for the Gulf state.
The request was made about 10 days ago after tense discussions with US officials, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The gas-rich country has housed Hamas’s political office in its capital Doha since 2012, when the civil war in Syria forced the organization to leave its base in Damascus and the US asked Qatar to open a communication channel. with the Palestinian group.
According to Israeli officials, Doha became a key interlocutor in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas after the militant group’s deadly attack on southern Israel in October 2023, which killed 1,200 people. Israelis were killed and more than 250 hostages were taken.
According to Palestinian officials, Israel’s subsequent attack in Gaza killed more than 43,000 Palestinians.
More than 100 Israeli hostages were freed in a deal last year that Qatar helped broker. But negotiations have since reached a deadlock, and Doha was told that after the failure of “repeated proposals for the release of hostages, [Hamas’s] A senior Biden administration official said leaders were no longer welcome in the capitals of any American partners.
“We made that clear to Qatar after Hamas rejected another hostage release proposal a few weeks ago,” the official said.
The official added that while Qatar played a key role in trying to negotiate a ceasefire and release the remaining Israeli hostages held by the militant group over the past year, “after Hamas repeatedly refused Releasing even a small number of hostages, including most recently during meetings in Cairo, their continued presence in Doha is no longer feasible or acceptable.”
A person familiar with the matter said Hamas figures in Qatar will move to Türkiye. The country has long harbored political members of Hamas and since the start of the war in Gaza, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has voiced support for the group.
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
In recent years, Qatar has poured millions of dollars into Gaza – which Hamas has ruled since the group took control of the enclave in 2007 – to pay civil servants and support Palestinian families in need. encounter difficulty.
The country’s image has been tarnished by its relationship with Hamas following the October 7 attack. But its role as a mediator in ceasefire talks has drawn international praise and has successfully released more than 100 Israeli hostages last year in exchange for 240 Palestinian women and children held in Israeli prisons.
However, frustrated by the intransigence of both sides in the negotiations to end the conflict in Gaza as well as the criticism of Qatar by politicians in the US and elsewhere, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said in April that Doha reassess its role as an intermediary.
An Arab diplomat said Hamas officials recently visited countries including Türkiye, Iran, Algeria and Mauritania and discussed the possibility of relocation.
“Qatar hosted Hamas leaders from the beginning after they received the green light from the Americans. It makes sense to try to eliminate them when America’s position changes,” the diplomat said.
Additional reporting by Adam Samson in Ankara
