US ‘won’t accept Hamas presence in Qatar’

[Pelican Press 0]

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US ‘won’t accept ****** presence in Qatar’

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Small but influential Qatar is a key US ally and hosts a major air base

Senior US officials have reportedly said Washington will no longer accept the presence of ****** representatives in Qatar, accusing the ************ group of rejecting the latest proposals to achieve a Gaza ceasefire and a ******** deal.

In anonymous briefings to the Reuters news agency, the officials said the Qatari government had agreed to tell ****** to close its political office 10 days ago.

****** have had a political base in Doha since 2012, reportedly at the request of the Obama administration, to allow communication with the group.

The reports have been denied to the BBC by ****** officials; Qatar has yet to comment.

The small but influential gulf state is a key US ally in the region. It hosts a major ********* air base and has handled many delicate political negotiations, including with Iran, the Taliban and Russia. Alongside the US and Egypt, the Qataris have also played a major role in rounds of so-far unsuccessful talks to broker a ceasefire in the year-long war between ******* and ****** in Gaza.

The latest round of talks in mid-October ******* to produce a deal, with ****** rejecting a short-term ceasefire proposal. They have always called for a complete end to the war and the full withdrawal of ******** troops from Gaza.

******* has also been accused of rejecting deals. Days after being fired earlier this week, former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant accused ******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of rejecting a peace deal against the advice of his security chiefs.

Dr H A Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal ******* Services Institute (Rusi), thinks the reports are credible. “I think we’re in the last phase before ****** is forced to relocate,” he told me. “The writing on the wall has been there for months.”

The call for ****** to be expelled from Qatar appears to be an attempt by the outgoing Biden administration to force some sort of peace deal before the end of his term in January.

Were ****** to be forced to leave Doha, it is unclear where they would base their political office. Key ally Iran would be an option, although the ************** of former leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July suggests they may be at risk from ******* if based there. It would also not give them anything close to the same diplomatic channels to the West.

Reuters

****** has had a political base in Doha since 2012, reportedly at the request of the Obama administration

A more likely option would be Turkey. As a Nato member but also a Sunni majority state, it would give the group a base from which to operate in relative safety. Last April President Erdogan hosted then ****** political chief Ismail Haniyeh and his delegation in Istanbul, where they talked about “what needs to be done to ensure adequate and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and a fair and lasting peace process in the region”.

The move would also most likely be welcomed by Ankara, which has often sought to position itself as a broker between east and west.

It is thought the personal safety of ****** leadership is now a major concern for the group, which saw two leaders ******* in less than four months. As well as Haniyeh’s ****** in July, in October ******* ******* Yahya Sinwar in Gaza – he was the mastermind behind the 7 October ****** ******* on southern *******.

According to the ********* Council of Foreign Relations, “****** has adopted a temporary model of collective leadership to mitigate the effect of future ******** assassinations”.

Dr Hellyer thinks that nowhere “will give them protection from ******** ************** attempts in the same way that being in Doha, where America has its largest military base in the region, did”.

The latest move comes as US officials appear increasingly frustrated with the approach the ******** government has taken to ending the war. In October, the US Secretaries of State and Defense said if ******* did not allow more humanitarian aid into the territory within 30 days, they would

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.

Last weekend a number of UN officials warned the situation in northern Gaza was “apocalyptic”. On Saturday the independent Famine Review Committee said there was a “strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas”.

The relationship between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu has deteriorated over the course of the war in Gaza, with increasing pressure from Washington to improve the humanitarian situation for the Palestinians and find some sort of negotiated settlement.

But, according to Dr Hellyer, US attempts at negotiation have been fatally flawed.

“By setting red lines and allowing Netanyahu to cross them without consequence, the Biden administration effectively encouraged further impunity. I don’t think any of this will change in the next 10 weeks,” he said.

Any overtures have been repeatedly rejected by Mr Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition, who will now also feel emboldened by the prospect of an incoming Donald Trump presidency.

While exactly what approach Donald Trump will take to the region ******** uncertain, he is thought to be more likely to allow ******* to act on its terms.

He has previously said ******* should “finish what they started” in Gaza. During his last term in the White House, he took a number of steps deemed highly favourable to *******, including moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

It has also been reported, however, that Trump told Netanyahu that he wants to see an end to the fighting by the time he takes office.

Either way, it seems likely that the current US administration will have less influence over the government in Jerusalem.

They may therefore believe the best way to force some sort of deal is to apply pressure on ******. Whether it pays off may depend on whether Qatar, so long a reliable ally, decides to go along with it.

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