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The United States and Qatar have agreed to re-examine the Gulf state’s ties to Hamas following the resolution of the high-risk international hostage crisis involving more than 220 people people in Gaza, according to four diplomats familiar with the discussions.
The agreement, which has not been previously reported, was forged at a recent meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in Doha. It is still unclear whether the reassessment will result in an exodus of Hamas leaders from Qatar, where they have long held political office in the capital, or whether steps will be taken that will not achieve that, these officials said, speaking below the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
The agreement is an attempt to balance the Biden administration’s short-term goal of freeing as many hostages as possible with its long-term goal of isolating Hamas after its Oct. 7 rampage in Israel.
“All I can say regarding Qatar is that we greatly appreciate their help in this case,” Blinken told reporters last week when asked if he thought Qatar was hosting Hamas -Offices are worthwhile. “We want to focus on ensuring that we bring those who remain hostage home and to their loved ones. That’s the most important.”
Qatar, a tiny gas-rich peninsula in the Persian Gulf, has been instrumental in helping the United States and Israel release hostages and communicating with Hamas on other pressing issues, including the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the safe passage of Gaza Hostages Palestinian-Americans from the besieged enclave.
But its decision more than a decade ago to provide refuge for Hamas’s political leaders and establish an office for its operations has come under scrutiny from Republicans in Congress and other pro-Israel hardliners.
“I want President Biden to go after our allies like the Qataris … and extradite these Hamas terrorists,” Rep. Max L. Miller (R-Ohio) told reporters this month.
Since the cross-border attack, the Biden administration has adopted the Israeli government’s policy of comparing Hamas to the Islamic State and pressured foreign governments and financial institutions to cut ties with the group, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007. “It can be ‘It’s not business as usual with Hamas,'” Blinken said at a press conference in Qatar on October 13.
The Treasury Department has launched a global campaign, imposing sanctions on Hamas members and financial intermediaries in Algeria, Sudan, Turkey, Qatar and elsewhere. The militant group receives economic and military support from Iran, Israel’s main adversary.
But a zero-tolerance policy toward Hamas affiliates threatens the delicate, ongoing hostage negotiations between the group and Qatar, talks that saw their first major breakthrough on Friday with the release of two American women who were kidnapped in the attack. Since then, two Israeli women have also been released. The Israeli government said Wednesday that more than half of the Hamas hostages have passports from abroad, including 54 Thais, 15 Argentines, 12 Germans, 12 Americans, six French and six Russians.
More than any other conflict in the Middle East, the war between Israel and Hamas is testing Qatar’s ability to manage its diverse portfolio of contacts without crossing red lines with its core partners.
His recent mediation efforts have drawn applause from the United States and rare praise from Israel.
“Qatar is becoming an important party and player in promoting humanitarian solutions. “Qatari’s diplomatic efforts are crucial at this time,” Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a statement on Wednesday.
While the possible departure of Hamas leaders from Qatar would be a long-sought goal of pro-Israel hardliners, it would likely prompt the group’s representatives to settle in less friendly havens, experts said, potentially hurting the West’s ability to negotiate sensitive issues such as ceasefire agreements, humanitarian breaks or prisoner exchanges.
“If Hamas leaders were to leave Qatar, they would probably go to Iran, Syria or Lebanon or somewhere further away like Algeria,” said Bruce Riedel, a Middle East scholar and former CIA official. “Relocating to Syria would favor President Bashar al-Assad, but most likely they would simply move to Iran.”
Unlike many other actors in the Middle East, Qatar has sought to maintain open lines of communication across the region and leverage its relationships with a wide range of actors.
As a champion of the Palestinian cause, the wealthy country of 2.7 million people pays the salaries of officials in Gaza and provides direct cash transfers to poor families there.
It houses Hamas political leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh, the group’s supreme leader, and Khaled Mashaal, who survived an Israeli assassination attempt in 1997. In 2012, Qatar’s then-emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, became the first head of state to visit the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Qatar also maintained cautious relations with Israel when other Gulf states firmly rejected any contact. In the 1990s, Qatar allowed an Israeli trade office, the Jewish state’s only outpost in the Gulf.
Qatar, the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, shares the world’s largest natural gas field with Iran, resulting in a less restrictive policy toward Tehran than those of its neighbors Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The key to Qatar’s security is its close partnership with the US military. The country is home to the headquarters of U.S. Central Command, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East.
During the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Al-Udeid base in Qatar was a key hub in Washington’s massive evacuation effort for Americans, foreigners and Afghan allies. Negotiations between U.S. and Taliban leaders aimed at ending the conflict also took place in Qatar during the Trump administration.
Washington considers Qatar a key non-NATO ally and the two participate in billions of dollars in military sales.
In addition to negotiating the release of hostages, Qatar also played an arbitrator role for the United States in various situations.
In the recent U.S. prisoner swap with Iran, which included the release of $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues, Qatar agreed to manage the money. The agreement limited Iran’s access to the funds to humanitarian goods such as food and medicine. But after the October 7 attack and under pressure from the US Congress, Doha and Washington agreed not to comply with Tehran’s requests to access these funds for the time being.
“Qatar has a 360-degree foreign policy,” said Riedel. “They host high-ranking Hamas political officials. They provide the United States with a huge air base. They’re talking to the Iranians. They cover all areas, so they can communicate with anyone at any time and unobtrusively.”