Officials say Qatar decided alone to expel Hamas, not Biden admin due to frustration with political situation
Fox News
Qatar has grown increasingly frustrated with “political exploitation” from all sides involved in the months-long Gaza peace talks it has hosted, and insists they informed Hamas they are no longer welcome in their nation without the help of the Biden administration, Fox News Digital has learned.
U.S. officials said it was the Biden administration who had asked Qatar to push out Hamas political officials after Hamas refused proposals to release even “a small number of hostages” during recent meetings after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
The U.S. had come to the position after the killing of Hersh Goldberg Polin, an American taken hostage on October 7.
But another diplomatic source briefed on the matter said it was Qatar’s decision on their own to ask Hamas leaders to leave after “both sides repeatedly refused to participate in negotiations except on their conditions without showing willingness to engage constructively.”
The source said that Qatar had warned U.S. officials, as well as Hamas and Israel, they would not accept “being subjected to political exploitation aimed at gaining political leverage at Qatar’s expense while misleading public perception.”
“The Qataris have concluded that there is insufficient willingness from either side, with the mediation efforts becoming more about politics and elections rather than a serious attempt at peace.”
“Once the Qataris had made their decision, they notified both sides, Israel and Hamas as well as the U.S. administration. All sides were given no advance warning and were informed after the decision was made.”
QATAR AGREES TO KICK HAMAS OUT OF DOHA AFTER REQUEST FROM BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
A senior Biden administration official said in response: “Will refer you to Qatar to speak to their decision. The U.S. is continuing to pursue a number of initiatives to secure the release of hostages. That work is ongoing.”
The official breakdown in talks was reported just after President-elect Donald Trump won the U.S. election. But U.S. sources say it was in the works before the election and that the Biden administration asked Qatar to ask Hamas to leave about two weeks ago and that Qatar gave Hamas notice they would no longer be welcome about 10 days ago.
Another source who is familiar disputes that the Biden administration asked Qatar to remove Hamas two weeks ago, but confirmed Hamas was informed of the decision 10 days ago.
“The State of Qatar notified the parties 10 days ago, during the last attempts to reach an agreement, that it would stall its efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel if an agreement was not reached in that round,” Dr. Majed bin Mohammed al Ansari, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement posted on X.
“The State of Qatar will not accept that mediation be a reason for blackmailing it,” he stressed.
The source said that those involved in the talks showed a “very clear demonstration to undermine the efforts by backing out from some of the commitments throughout the negotiations and trying to make them as deal breakers for political optics rather than a serious security matter.”
“The Qataris informed both the Israelis and Hamas that as long as there is a refusal to negotiate a deal in good faith, they cannot continue to mediate. As a consequence, the Hamas political office no longer serves its purpose.”
The source reiterated that Qatar had only notified Israel, Hamas and the U.S. that it would no longer be hosting talks after they had come to the decision, adding they would return to the negotiating table once both sides got serious about ending the war.
A similar message had been conveyed in April, prompting members of Hamas to leave for Turkey.
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU FIRES DEFENSE MINISTER YOAV GALLANT
But two weeks after that, the Biden administration and Israeli government asked Qatar to request Hamas’ return, because they were keen to continue the talks.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has said to have played a key role in peace talks between Israel and Hamas, alongside the U.S. and Gaza, helping to secure the release of nearly 200 hostages over the past year. But U.S. officials say Hamas has shown no signs of budging off “unrealistic”demands to remain in power in Gaza, a position the U.S. and Israel will never accept.
With Trump’s win, the Biden administration, now in a race against time to salvage its foreign policy legacy, has just over two months to secure a ceasefire deal.
“When it comes to the Middle East, we will continue to pursue an end to the war in Gaza, an end to the war in Lebanon, a surge of humanitarian assistance. And that is our duty to pursue those policies right up until noon on January 20th,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters this week.
Trump, having run on a platform of negotiating ends to conflicts around the world, will also be keen to see peace return to the Middle East. He reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he wants Israel to win the war quickly.
Trump and al-Thani met in Florida in September and had “productive” discussions about bringing peace to the region, a source who was familiar said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but did not hear back by press time.
An Israeli official in Netanyahu’s office issued a statement to reporters welcoming Qatar’s decision, saying that no country should host the terror group.
The Times of Israel reported that the Israeli official also stated that “Donald Trump’s election victory this week also contributed to the decision, suggesting that the Republican president-elect would not have supported Hamas’s continued presence in Doha.”