Qatar recently agreed to expel members of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas from its territory, following a request from the United States, according to the American news channel CNN.
The United States has made it clear to Doha that Hamas’ presence in Qatar is no longer desired. In response, the latter reportedly asked the Palestinian movement to close its diplomatic office on its territory.
This request was apparently made ten days ago, after Hamas refused a proposal involving the release of Israeli hostages. On CNN, a member of the Biden administration declared that the leaders of the Palestinian movement should no longer be welcome in the capitals of countries allied with the United States.
Death of Hamas leader: “This does not mean the end of the war in Gaza, but it is the beginning of the end,” says Netanyahu
It is not yet clear when Hamas members will be expelled from Qatar and where they will go next. A US official, however, told CNN that the group was not given much time to leave the country. Turkey is also being considered as a possible escape option, but the United States is unlikely to approve this scenario, for the same reasons it refuses to allow Qatar to shelter Hamas leaders.
Doha plays an important role as mediator in the peace negotiations surrounding the conflict in Gaza, and therefore hosts the heads of Western governments as well as senior Hamas officials on its territory. Qatar notably received the former leader of Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh, before he was killed during a visit to Tehran in July.
Iraqi Prime Minister hopes for “end of wars” in the Middle East from Trump
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani spoke with US President-elect Donald Trump, saying he hopes he keeps his election “promises” and his “commitment” to “end wars” in the Middle East .
Brought to power by pro-Iranian parties, the Baghdad government is continuing a delicate balancing act to keep Iraq away from an explosive regional situation, with the war waged by Israel for more than a year in Gaza against Hamas Palestinian, and now in Lebanon against Hezbollah.
During their telephone conversation, Mr. Soudani highlighted “his attention to Mr. Trump’s statements and promises during his election campaign, including his commitment to ending wars in the region, and the two sides agreed to coordinate to achieve this,” according to a statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office, published late Friday evening.
EDITORIAL – Trump and Putin: phew love
Iraq welcomes on its territory around 2,500 American soldiers deployed as part of an international coalition led by Washington to fight against the jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) group.
These soldiers were the target of dozens of rocket attacks and drone strikes in Iraq carried out by pro-Iranian Iraqi armed groups, who also claim attacks against Israel.
To defuse the situation, Baghdad negotiated with Washington the departure of the anti-jihadist coalition.
A transition plan calls for a gradual withdrawal of coalition personnel from Iraq. The first phase, until September 2025, provides for the departure of these soldiers from federal Iraq, then by September 2026 from autonomous Kurdistan in northern Iraq.
