Qatar has welcomed the Hamas political office since 2012, after what Qatari officials say they are requests from the United States.
The Nation of the Gulf of Qatar has long served as a mediator, both in the Middle East and further. The country has good relations with nations that oppose each other, such as the United States and Iran, and therefore serves as a place where conversations can occur between adversaries.
The presence of many leaders of the Palestinian group of Hamas in Doha noted that the city has become a basis for negotiations to end the War of Israel against Gaza and ensure the release of Israeli captives held in the enclave.
Recommended stories
List of 3 elementslist
But that seems to be in danger after Israel’s attack on several Hamas leaders in Doha on Tuesday.
Why are these leaders based in Qatar? And what is Qatar’s relationship with the Palestinian movement? Let’s take a closer look:
When did Hamas opened a political bureau for the first time in Qatar?
Hamas opened its political bureau for the first time in Qatar in 2012, after the leaders – including Khaled Meshaal – left Syria a year after the war in this country.
Qatari officials said on several occasions that the decision to welcome Hamas leaders had come after a request from the United States. In an opinion article in 2023 for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Qatari Ambassador to the United States, the sheikh Hamad Al Thani bac, said Washington wanted the office “established indirect communication lines with Hamas”.
Who are the political leaders of Hamas who were based there?
Various senior Hamas leaders are based in Qatar or were based there as a result of the opening of the Hamas office.
The Meshaal mentioned above, who is the former leader of the Hamas political office and who himself survived an attempted Israeli assassination of 1997 in Jordan, moved to Qatar in 2012 and has been based there since.
Ismail Haniyeh, who succeeded Meshaal as a political leader and was previously the Palestinian Prime Minister, was also based in Qatar from 2017, the year he left Gaza to become a political leader. Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in July 2024.
The other leaders based in Qatar are Khalil al-Hayya, member of the Hamas Leadership Council, and Mousa Abu Marzouk.
Why does Qatar host Hamas?
Qatar is considered one of the most important mediators in the region and the international, making it an influential player.
The country has provided financial aid in Gaza – which has been in the form of blockade by Israel since 2007 – for years, and is also one of the main champions of the Palestinian cause.
Providing a political base for Hamas is the result of a combination of these two factors.
In its WSJ opinion element, the Sheikh Meshal of Qatar justified the presence of the Hamas office because it had been “frequently used in mediation efforts, helping to defuse conflicts in Israel and in the Palestinian territories”.
“The presence of the Hamas office should not be confused with approval but rather establishes an important channel for indirect communication,” said Sheikh Meshal.
Last year, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani suggested that Qatar could seek to reassess his mediation role, as some parts had used mediation for “narrow political interest”.
What else other hostar host?
The recognition of Qatar as a mediator and a safe basis for political groups around the world has led its capital to agree on a certain number of different international players.
A number of Arab political figures have moved to Qatar, especially following the Arab Spring.
Apart from that, Qatar welcomed the Taliban’s political bureau from 2013 while he was fighting against the United States and the former Afghan government. The Taliban political office was also opened at the request of the United States to provide a place of peace talks.
And, of course, Qatar welcomes the United States in the form of the largest Washington military base in the Middle East, the Al Udeid air base.
