The United States and Qatar have agreed to reassess the Gulf monarchy’s ties with Hamas after Doha fulfilled its role in releasing hostages the terror group captured during its massacre in Israel on October 7, according to a report on Thursday .
It has yet to decide whether the review will include the possible deportation of Hamas leaders living in Qatar or other similar measures against the terror group’s political office, The Washington Post reported, citing four diplomats with knowledge of the discussions.
The agreement was reached at a recent meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and is an attempt by Washington to balance its short-term goal of releasing as many hostages as possible with the long-term goal. The report said this was a long-term strategy to stifle support for Hamas.
Qatar, a U.S. ally that hosts a major American military base, also houses Hamas’ political office while serving as the primary residence of its exiled leader Ismail Haniyeh as well as its former leader Khaled Mashaal. The country is one of Hamas’s main supporters, sending hundreds of millions of dollars to the terrorist group every year.
Because of its close ties, the wealthy Gulf monarchy has acted as a communications channel with Hamas and is playing a key role in negotiating the release of some of the at least 224 hostages currently held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ murderous October 7 attack on Israel About 1,400 people were killed, the vast majority of them civilians.
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Four of the hostages were released.
File: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders pray before hosting an Iftar Ramadan fast-breaking dinner with Qatari officials and international diplomats in Qatar on April 13, 2023. (Hamas.ps)
In previous rounds of violence, Qatar also played a role in brokering ceasefires between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip.
The Gulf monarchy received rare praise from Israel this week when national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi praised its role in the hostage negotiations.
“I am pleased to say that Qatar is becoming a key party and stakeholder in advancing humanitarian solutions. Qatar’s diplomatic efforts are crucial at this time,” Hanegbi wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
If Doha were to cut its ties with the terror group, its leaders could defect to a country less able to act as a mediator, cutting off these crucial lines of communication.
“If Hamas leaders were to leave Qatar, they would probably go to Iran, Syria or Lebanon or somewhere further away like Algeria,” Bruce Riedel, a Middle East scholar and former CIA official, told The Post. “Relocating to Syria would be a great honor to President Bashar al-Assad, but most likely they would simply move to Iran.”
“Qatar has a 360-degree foreign policy,” he continued. “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.”
Qatar has also faced withering criticism from the United States and others over its pan-Arab, staunchly anti-Israel satellite news channel Al Jazeera. It aired statements from the late al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden and provided nonstop coverage of the fallout from Israel’s large-scale airstrikes in that war with Hamas, including images of dead and dying that have fueled demonstrations across the Middle East and the wider world.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (right) and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken make statements in Doha, Qatar, October 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
According to a report on Wednesday, Blinken called on the Qatari prime minister to tone down state-run Al Jazeera’s rhetoric about the Gaza war.
Axios reported that the call to “turn down the volume on Al Jazeera’s coverage because it is full of anti-Israel incitement” suggests that the US fears that the Qatari network’s coverage of the war is inflaming tensions in the region.
The request was one of several made by Blinken as part of a broader appeal for Qatar to change its public stance toward Hamas, the report said.
In a speech alongside Qatar’s prime minister in Doha earlier this month, Blinken said: “It cannot continue to be business as usual with Hamas.”
Agencies contributed to this report.
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