The leadership of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, whose political office is based in Doha, has not received official notification from the Qatari authorities of the need to leave the country. This was reported by the TV channel Asharq with reference to a representative of the movement.
„We cannot confirm or deny the information attributed to an unnamed diplomatic source. The movement has not received a single official or direct request to leave Qatar”, the TV channel quoted a Hamas representative as saying.
Earlier, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that Qatar, under pressure from the US, has asked the leadership of Hamas to leave the country, as the movement has repeatedly rejected the offers of brokering the release of Israeli hostages as part of Gaza ceasefire talks.
According to an Agence France-Presse source, the Qatari side has also refused to mediate between Israel and Hamas, so the Doha-based office of Hamas is “no longer serving its purpose”. At the same time, the source did not specify whether the Qatari authorities plan to close this office and whether the movement will maintain its presence in Qatar.
Hamas' political office has been operating in Doha since 2012, when the movement's leadership was forced out of its headquarters in Damascus due to the Syrian civil war. Qatar has granted political asylum to Hamas leaders, becoming a platform for the movement's representation abroad.