Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political workplace since 2012, after what Qatari officers say had been requests from the US.
The Gulf nation of Qatar has lengthy served as a mediator, each within the Center East and additional afield. The nation has good relations with nations that oppose one another, corresponding to the US and Iran, and due to this fact serves as a location the place conversations can occur between adversaries.
The presence of many leaders from the Palestinian group Hamas in Doha has meant that the town has turn into a base for negotiations to finish Israel’s warfare on Gaza and safe the discharge of Israeli captives held within the enclave.
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However that appears like it’s in jeopardy following Israel’s assault on a number of Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday.
Why are these leaders based mostly in Qatar? And what’s Qatar’s relationship with the Palestinian motion? Let’s take a better look:
When did Hamas first open a political workplace in Qatar?
Hamas first opened its political workplace in Qatar in 2012, after leaders – together with Khaled Meshaal – left Syria a yr after the warfare in that nation started.
Qatari officers have repeatedly stated that the choice to host the Hamas management got here after a request from the US. In a 2023 opinion piece for the Wall Avenue Journal (WSJ), the Qatari ambassador to the US, Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani, stated that Washington wished the workplace “to ascertain oblique strains of communication with Hamas”.
Who’re the Hamas political leaders who’ve been based mostly there?
Varied senior Hamas leaders are based mostly in Qatar or have been based mostly there on account of the opening of the Hamas workplace.
The beforehand talked about Meshaal, who’s the previous head of Hamas’s political bureau and who himself survived a 1997 Israeli assassination try in Jordan, moved to Qatar in 2012 and has been based mostly there since.
Ismail Haniyeh, who succeeded Meshaal as political chief and was beforehand the Palestinian prime minister, was additionally based mostly in Qatar from 2017, the yr he left Gaza to turn into political chief. Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel within the Iranian capital Tehran in July 2024.
Different leaders based mostly in Qatar embrace Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the Hamas management council, and Mousa Abu Marzouk.
Why does Qatar host Hamas?
Qatar is taken into account one of the vital mediators within the area and internationally, making it an influential participant.
The nation supplied monetary assist to Gaza – which has been below some type of blockade by Israel since 2007 – for years, and likewise is a number one champion of the Palestinian trigger.
Offering a political base for Hamas is the results of a mix of those two components.
In his WSJ opinion piece, Qatar’s Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani justified the presence of the Hamas workplace because it had “continuously been utilized in mediation efforts, serving to to de-escalate conflicts in Israel and the Palestinian territories”.
“The presence of the Hamas workplace shouldn’t be confused with endorsement however somewhat establishes an vital channel for oblique communication,” Al Thani stated.
Final yr, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani steered that Qatar might look to re-evaluate its mediation position, as a result of some events had used the mediation for “slim political curiosity”.
What else does Qatar host?
The acknowledgment of Qatar as a mediator and a protected base for political teams from world wide has led to its capital turning into host to quite a few completely different worldwide gamers.
Quite a lot of Arab political figures relocated to Qatar, most notably within the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
Other than that, Qatar hosted the Taliban’s political workplace from 2013 onwards because it fought in opposition to the US and the previous Afghan authorities. The Taliban political workplace was additionally opened on the request of the US to supply a venue for peace talks.
And naturally, Qatar hosts the US – within the type of Washington’s largest army base within the Center East, Al Udeid airbase.
