ANKARA — Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah said on Friday that his country has no intention of ejecting Hamas’ political headquarters.
Moving the militant group’s Doha-based political bureau is “not something being considered,” Attiyah, who also serves as Qatar’s deputy prime minister, was quoted as saying by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu News Agency. “It’s not that we want Hamas to be only in Qatar, but we want to facilitate dialogue between our interlocutors through Hamas’s office,” he added.
Attiyah’s remarks, made during an event at Istanbul’s Bogazici University, came in response to reports that the United States is pressuring Doha to expel the political leaders of the militant group. In addition to political chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas cofounder Mahmoud al-Zahar and former political chief Khaled Mashal have been based in Doha for over a decade. The Palestinian group established its external headquarters in Doha in 2012.
Qatar and Egypt have been mediating between Israel and Hamas to achieve a cease-fire. However, since the Gaza war, Doha has faced criticism from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US lawmakers for hosting the group.
In April, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani hit back at the criticism, saying that his country was “reevaluating its role as a mediator” and accused “politicians with narrow interests” of harming Qatar.
Further reports suggested that Doha was also considering closing Hamas’ office in Doha. “The Gulf state could close the political office of Hamas as part of a broader review of its role as a mediator,” Reuters reported last month, citing an official familiar with the Qatari government’s reassessment.
On Friday, Attiyah noted that hosting Hamas’ political headquarters aligns with Doha’s “strategy of resolving conflicts peacefully.”
He added, however, that “Qatari efforts alone are not sufficient” to end the war in Gaza, urging the international community to act immediately for a two-state solution with east Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
He stopped short of providing details on the current state of the cease-fire talks happening in Doha following the Biden administration’s proposal for a truce in Gaza.
