Qatari officials have told Hamas political leaders they are no longer welcome in the country, U.S. and Israeli officials said over the weekend, given the deadlock between Israel and Hamas on cease-fire talks to end the war in Gaza.
The Qatari government declined to comment. But an official familiar with the matter said Qatar had decided that the political office maintained by Hamas in the capital, Doha, no longer served its purpose because of the stalled the truce negotiations.
The Qatari move appeared to be an attempt to ramp up pressure on the Palestinian armed group and Israel to compromise on terms for a cease-fire that would also free the remaining 101 hostages held in Gaza. But it was unclear whether Qatar would immediately enforce a decision to expel Hamas leaders from Doha and if so, how long it would last.
A key mediator between Israel and Hamas, Qatar also informed both sides that it was stepping back from the moribund cease-fire talks, said the official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.
Qatar has hosted Hamas’s exiled political leaders since 2012, making Doha a focal point for negotiations with Israel to end the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages held there. Egypt, which borders Gaza, is the other major mediator between the two sides.
Hamas officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Hamas has long insisted on a permanent end to the war and a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza before releasing any of the remaining hostages. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has vowed to continuing fighting until Hamas’s destruction in Gaza and suggested Israeli forces would have to remain in parts of the enclave during a cease-fire.
Mr. Netanyahu has repeatedly changed his conditions for a deal, and his critics in Israel have accused him of prioritizing his political survival over freeing the hostages. His hard-line coalition allies have called for indefinite Israeli rule in Gaza and opposed previous truce proposals that would have ended the campaign against Hamas.
Being forced to leave Qatar — where some Hamas leaders have been based for over a decade, often alongside their families — would be another blow to Hamas.
Israel has already methodically eliminated many of the group’s political and military leaders since the war began last October with the Hamas-led attacks on Israel. Over the last year, Israel has killed two of Hamas’s political chiefs and the leader of its armed wing, as well as dozens of lower-ranking officials.
Last month, Israeli soldiers killed the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, in a firefight in the southern Gaza Strip. Diplomats and analysts said Mr. Sinwar — one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attack — had dominated Hamas’s decision-making, leaving its future direction unclear.
Qatar had conveyed a similar message to Hamas in April, prompting Hamas officials to leave for Turkey. But they returned only a couple weeks later as cease-fire talks continued; those ultimately collapsed after Israel invaded the southern city of Rafah in early May.
And for Qatar, expelling Hamas could be a double-edged sword. The tiny Gulf emirate has long wielded outsized influence by mediating between Western countries and parties they revile, like Hamas and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
While pressuring Hamas’s political leaders could compel them show more flexibility in talks with Israel, it could also reduce Qatar’s importance in the talks should they move to another regional hub.
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