Qatar reportedly expels Hamas, stops mediation efforts for hostage deal with Israel

Hamas official denies receiving request, Israel welcomes Qatari decision

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Qatar has decided to expel the terror organization Hamas from its capital Doha following pressure from Washington, Biden administration officials told The Times of Israel on Friday.

“After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, its leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner,” a senior Biden administration official said.

In addition, the emirate will stop its mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel.

Qatar, which has close ties with Hamas, played a leading role in the protracted negotiations to secure the release of the remaining 101 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

After the terrorist group executed several hostages and, according to Biden administration officials, has systematically rejected all internationally brokered hostage deal proposals, Washington informed Qatar that Hamas’ presence in the Gulf Arab state is “no longer viable or acceptable.”

It is currently unclear if and when Hamas officials in Qatar will de facto leave the country. A senior Hamas official told AFP that, so far, the group hasn’t received a request to leave.

“We have nothing to confirm or deny regarding what was published by an unidentified diplomatic source and we have not received any request to leave Qatar,” the official said.

Meanwhile, an Israeli official welcomed Qatar’s decision to end its mediating role.

“There’s a logic to it. The moment that [the Qataris] expel Hamas there is no more advantage in mediation and it becomes superfluous,” the official told Times of Israel. “Hamas is a murderous terror organization that needs to be suppressed globally rather than receiving emergency lodgings in any country.”

“It’s been a while already that Israel and the U.S. have been pushing for Qatar to expel Hamas,” he added.

A political source told Israeli media outlets, “It is natural that if Qatar does not host senior Hamas officials in its territory, it will not mediate between the parties either. The consequences for a hostage deal are still too early to tell, but it probably won't help to advance a deal.”

While the Israeli government displayed some flexibility in the negotiations, Hamas' leadership refused to compromise on what Washington and Jerusalem describe as “unrealistic positions,” mainly the ambition to remain in power in Gaza after the war. A Biden administration official stressed that this was “something the U.S. and Israel will never accept.”

The decision to expel Hamas from Qatar followed long-standing pressure to do so, as the Gulf emirate has been among Hamas’ most important diplomatic supporters and funders.

In May, Qatari officials indicated that the country was prepared to expel Hamas officials unless the terror group displayed flexibility in the hostage deal negotiations.

However, at the time, Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed al-Ansari stressed that Qatar still viewed Hamas’ presence in the country as useful for the hostage deal negotiations.

“As long as their presence here in Doha, as we have always said, is useful and positive in this mediation effort, they will remain here,” the Qatari official stated.

Hamas leaders in Qatar have reportedly been preparing for a scenario in which the terror group is forced to relocate to another country.

In April, Hamas indicated it was considering moving its main office to Turkey, Jordan or Oman. While a transition to Jordan would facilitate Hamas’ terrorist attacks on the neighboring Jewish state, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is strongly opposed to the idea of hosting Hamas' leaders, a move that could seriously destabilize the vulnerable Middle Eastern kingdom.

Washington and Jerusalem previously assessed that the late Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was not interested in a hostage deal and was instead hoping for a regional full-scale war between Israel and the Iranian-led axis, which includes terrorist proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and pro-Iranian terrorist militias in Syria and Iraq.

The elimination of Sinwar in October, therefore, initially increased optimism that a hostage agreement could be secured.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly offered to spare the lives of Hamas terrorists in Gaza if they released the Israeli hostages. However, the remaining Hamas leadership in Qatar quickly rejected the offer and vowed that no hostages would be released until the Hamas-initiated war ended.

While Israel has signaled its willingness to accept a temporary ceasefire, the Netanyahu government has vowed to continue military operations until Hamas is dismantled as a military and political power in the Gaza Strip.