At the request of the United States, Qatar has told Hamas to leave the country following the Palestinian militant group’s rejection of another hostage release proposal, multiple Biden administration officials told Al-Monitor, though the news is denied by Qatari officials.
The United States asked Qatar to expel Hamas about two weeks ago, and the Qataris gave the group notice shortly after, claims al Monitor. In search of a new home base, HAMAS will choose between Iran and Turkey. While the Erdogan administration may welcome HAMAs to insert itself in the ongoing Middle East peace process, main opposition party CHP asserts that doing so would only help raise mistrust between Turkey and the West.
“It wasn’t an ask,” a second US official said, regarding HAMAS. “The message relayed to Hamas from Qatar was essentially ‘pack your bags and get out.’”
Three US officials said the exiled Hamas officials were most likely to move to Iran, which is the group’s biggest financial and military backer, and Turkey, which has long welcomed Hamas political figures.
Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official based in Doha, told Al-Monitor he was not aware of the reports. A representative for the Qatari Embassy in Washington did not return a request for comment.
Qatar officially confirmed its decision to halt mediation efforts, but framed the decision as reversible, if the parties demonstrate willingness to re-engage. The foreign ministry made a point of claiming that “media reports” on the topic — and specifically those on Qatar’s decision to close the Hamas office in Doha — are “inaccurate.”
The diplomat said that once the decision was made by Qatar to cease its mediating role and to kick Hamas officials out of the country, it first informed the other mediators — the US and Egypt — and then told Hamas and Israel. The notification was provided at the end of October.
The diplomat also noted that Qatar’s decision isn’t necessarily permanent and could be reversed if both sides demonstrate a sincere willingness to negotiate in good faith. This is what happened in April, when Qatar quietly pushed Hamas out of the country, the diplomat says. The terror group’s leaders went to Turkey, but the US and Israel asked Doha to bring them back in order to resume talks, after attempts to do so with Hamas in Ankara did not succeed.
Indeed, two government officials revealed that sequence of events to The Times of Israel in May.
The diplomat speculated that after Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination in Tehran, Hamas officials will once again head to Turkey. This could place Ankara in a difficult position, though, as the Biden administration made clear Friday that it doesn’t want its allies hosting the terror group.
An Israeli official in Netanyahu’s office issued a statement to reporters welcoming Qatar’s decision to oust Hamas, saying that no country should host the terror group.
The call to expel Hamas from Qatar appears to be an attempt to force the organization into a peace deal before the end of the Joe Biden administration’s term. If Hamas is forced to leave Doha, it is also unclear where they will establish their political offices. Iran, one of the main allies of the organization, is one of the options. However, the fact that former leader Ismail Haniye was killed in Tehran means that the leadership will not be safe in this country. According to the BBC, Türkiye may be a better option. In addition to being a NATO country, the majority of its population is Sunni, which can provide the group with a relatively safe base.
President Erdoğan hosted the then political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniye, in Istanbul last April. Ankara, which is trying to position itself as a mediator between east and west, would likely welcome a possible move. Hamas leaders such as Osama Hamdan and Tahir al-Nunu have been staying in Istanbul for more than a month.
The opposition reacts
Speaking to Cumhuriyet regarding the issue, CHP Deputy Chairman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs İlhan Uzgel said, “Turkey comes to mind because there is no other country anywhere else that is ideologically engaged with Hamas in this way.” Noting that the USA used the Doha administration as a channel regarding Hamas for pragmatic reasons, Uzgel reminded that it was also used in contacts with the Taliban through Qatar.
Uzgel said, “Qatar served as a point of contact without being ideologically invested. Erdogan’s government has committed itself ideologically to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. “Iran is not considered safe,” he said.
Stating that Erdoğan will try to strengthen his place in the eyes of the West in the event of a possible mediation, Uzgel added that the president’s relations with Hamas could be used as a tool of pressure against Ankara. Uzgel said, “Türkiye is a country that has turned its direction to the Middle East for the last 10 years. Turkey’s domestic and foreign policies have become too Middle Eastern. If Hamas leaders leave Qatar, the first thing that comes to mind is Türkiye. From where? We have become an integral part of Middle East politics. “This did not benefit the people of the region, but it did a lot of harm to Turkey,” he said.
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