Hamas official responds to CNN reports that talked about Qatar plans to expel Hamas from its territories
A senior Hamas official told CNN, Saturday, reports that Qatar has agreed to expel the movement’s officials from Doha, at the request of the United States, are baseless.
The Hamas official said the reports were a pressure tactic, adding that similar allegations had been made before without supporting evidence.
“This has been repeated without any evidence… What has been reported in the Israeli media about Qatar agreeing to expel Hamas from Doha at the request of the US is baseless and is just a pressure tactic,” he added.
CNN reported that On Friday, Qatar also agreed to expel Hamas from Doha, citing American and Qatari sources.
Qatar agreed to do so in recent weeks at the request of the United States, according to the sources, after months of failed attempts to persuade the armed group, whose top leaders are based in Doha, to accept a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Doha.
Qatar has been a key player in efforts over the past year to try to secure a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, in part because senior members of the movement are based in Doha, and major negotiations have taken place in the Qatari capital for this reason.
In this regard, Dr. Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari, the official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the circulating reports about the State of Qatar’s withdrawal from mediation regarding the ceasefire in Gaza aren’t accurate, noting that Qatar notified the parties 10 days ago during the last attempts to reach an agreement, that it would suspend its mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel if an agreement wasn’t reached in that round, and that it would resume those efforts with partners when the necessary seriousness is available to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians due to the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the Strip, stressing in this context that the State of Qatar will then be at the forefront of making every good effort to end the war and return the hostages and prisoners.
Ansari stressed that “the State of Qatar won’t accept that mediation be a reason for blackmailing it, as we have witnessed manipulation since the collapse of the first truce and the women and children exchange deal, especially in the retreat from obligations that were agreed upon through mediation, and the exploitation of the continuation of negotiations to justify the continuation of the war to serve narrow political purposes”.
The official spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar’s firm commitment to supporting the brotherly Palestinian people until they obtain all their rights, foremost among which is their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, stressing the centrality of the Palestinian cause to the State of Qatar.
Ansari pointed out that the reports related to the Hamas office in Doha are inaccurate, stressing that the main goal of the office’s presence in Qatar is to be a channel of communication between the concerned parties.
Acco9rding to him, this channel has achieved a ceasefire in several previous stages, and contributed to maintaining the calm until the exchange of prisoners and hostages of women and children in November of last year, stressing in this context the need to obtain information from its official sources.
