Eurasia Press & News
Hamas is no longer welcome in the State of Qatar, a senior U.S. official told Reuters on November 8. According to the unnamed official, Qatari officials ordered Hamas to exit the emirate after the Biden administration told Doha that Hamas’s presence in Qatar “is no longer acceptable.” Qatar has long sheltered Hamas’s political elite, many of whom live in the emirate as multi-billionaires. The Biden administration official did not specify whether Qatar gave Hamas leaders a deadline.
The Biden administration reportedly approached Doha more than a week ago, after Hamas rejected yet another ceasefire and hostage release proposal. The terror group denies it has been asked to leave, while Doha has yet to publicly confirm the decision. Qatar has served as a key mediator — alongside Egypt and the United States — between Israel and Hamas since October 7, 2023. Qatari mediators have repeatedly failed to exercise their leverage over Hamas, secure a ceasefire, and compel Hamas to release the remaining hostages.
Congress Wants Tough Action on Qatar
The news of Qatar’s move against Hamas comes days after more than a dozen Republican senators sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the Biden administration to “reverse” its “policy towards the State of Qatar” and compel the Gulf emirate to crack down on Hamas. “Qatari officials have said repeatedly that they would change their policy towards Hamas if the Biden-Harris administration asked it to do so,” the senators noted, maintaining “that it is long past time the administration ask Qatar to freeze Hamas leaders’ assets, shut their access to international media, end their ability to host foreign visitors, and prevent them from traveling abroad.”
The group of American lawmakers also requested that the Biden administration “seek the extradition” to the United States of Khaled Meshal, a senior member of Hamas’s politburo based in Qatar. On September 3, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed terrorism, murder conspiracy, and sanctions evasion charges against Meshal and five other senior Hamas officials. The senators further requested that DOJ build on its September action and “seek indictment” for other Hamas officials living outside of Gaza, including Qatar-based Khalil Al-Hayya.
Qatar’s Decades-Old Relationship with Hamas
Hamas established a political office in Qatar in 2012. Qatari officials claim that the terrorist group set up its Doha office following “a request from Washington to establish indirect lines of communication with Hamas.” That justification rings hollow considering that Qatar’s relationship with Hamas predates the group’s Doha headquarters.
Qatar endorsed Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 2007 and has since pumped an estimated $1.8 billion into Gaza’s Hamas-run government. Meanwhile, Doha has provided Hamas a platform and legitimacy through its state-owned media network, Al Jazeera. Following Hamas’s October 7 attack, the terrorist group’s late political leader Ismail Haniyeh appeared on Al Jazeera praising Hamas’s “great triumph” and calling on “the sons of this entire nation, in their various locations, to join this battle in any way they can.” As if echoing Hamas propaganda, Qatar’s foreign ministry released a statement on October 7 holding “Israel alone responsible” for Hamas’s massacre.
Washington’s Next Steps on Qatar and Hamas
The Biden administration must now ensure that Doha moves quickly to enforce Hamas’s expulsion. The administration should ensure Qatar expels all Hamas personnel, not just a handful of high-profile leaders. Washington should also make clear that Doha should no longer serve as a financial hub for Hamas.
In 2017, the U.S. and Qatar signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) to combat terror finance, yet Doha’s compliance is questionable. In October 2023, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a Qatar-based Hamas financier named Muhammad Nasrallah. Moreover, the Financial Action Task Force — an international money laundering and terror finance watchdog — reported in 2023 that Qatar “has not demonstrated that it is effectively identifying, investigating, or prosecuting” terror financing cases. Now is the time for Washington to tell Doha it must sever all ties with Hamas to remain a U.S. ally.
