At US behest, Qatar has ordered Hamas to leave Doha — Biden officials
Qatar told Hamas that it must close its diplomatic office in Doha roughly ten days ago following a request by the US, senior Biden administration officials tell The Times of Israel.
Qatar has hosted Hamas officials in Doha since 2012, amid requests from successive US administrations who felt it was important to have a communication channel with the terror group.
Following Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, the US informed Qatar that it would not be able to maintain “business as usual” with the terror group. However, it held off on asking Doha to shutter the Hamas office, viewing it as critical for the negotiations toward a ceasefire and hostage deal.
Those talks succeeded in a week-long deal last November, but they have failed to secure a permanent ceasefire or the release of the remaining 101 hostages.
A US official tells The Times of Israel that Hamas’s late August execution of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin along with five other hostages and its subsequent rejection of more recent ceasefire proposals are what led the administration to change its approach regarding the terror group’s continued presence in Doha, deeming it “no longer viable or acceptable.”
The US decision also coincided with its unsealing of indictments against Hamas officials, including one of its top leaders Khaled Meshaal, who is known to reside in Doha, the US official says.
File: Senior Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal (L) and senior Hamas member Mousa Abu Marzouk attending a meeting between Iran’s Foreign Minister and Hamas’ political bureau chief in Doha, October 31, 2023. (Iranian Foreign Ministry/AFP)
“After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, its leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner,” a second senior administration official tells The Times of Israel.
Hamas showed no signs of budging from “unrealistic positions” in the negotiations, including conditions that would have effectively ensured its ability to remain in power in Gaza — “something the US and Israel will never accept,” the US official says.
Two weeks ago, the US asked Qatar to kick out Hamas, the US official says, adding that Doha agreed and gave the notice around October 28.
Details regarding when the expulsion of Hamas officials will actually take place and where they will be ordered to go are still being worked out, the US official says.
Some of the potential landing spots raised in the past have been Turkey, Iran, Oman, Lebanon, Algeria; but each comes with certain drawbacks as far as the US is concerned.
The US official stresses that the Biden administration is continuing to pursue a number of initiatives to secure a hostage deal before the end of President Joe Biden’s term and argues that the expulsion of Hamas will place more pressure on the terror group, along with sanctions and other tools at Washington’s disposal.
Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of those held hostage by the Hamas terror group in Gaza, at “Hostage Square” in Tel Aviv, November 2, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
For its part, Qatar has yet to confirm that it has ordered Hamas officials to leave the country, but Qatari officials repeatedly told The Times of Israel throughout the past year that it was prepared to oust the terror group and would do so if Washington submitted a formal request to do so.
The US official stresses that Doha has played an “invaluable role” as a mediator throughout the conflict. It’s unclear what role Doha will be able to play moving forward, once it no longer is hosting Hamas leaders.
Qatar has come under fire from Congressional Republicans who have been less praiseworthy of Doha’s role in the conflict and argued that the Islamist Gulf state could have placed more pressure on Hamas in order to secure a deal.
The Biden administration has repeatedly pushed back against this criticism, as it has relied on Qatar’s mediation role in several other conflicts in addition to one in Gaza.
