The political leadership of Hamas is considering leaving their domicile in Qatar, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Saturday.
According to the newspaper, sources said that the Gaza-based terror group has been holding relocation talks with several Arab countries, one of which is Oman.
A Hamas spokesperson denied on their Telegram channel that there are any plans to move their operations to another country.
The Journal stated that a change of national headquarters may cause worry for U.S. and Israeli officials who fear that such an arrangement may make it more difficult to engage in current hostage negotiations, considering that Doha maintains friendly relations with both countries and has served as a mediator on the issue.
In addition to these concerns, Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, recently said that he was reassessing his country’s participation in the efforts to release the Jewish captives held by Hamas.
“The possibility of the talks being upended entirely is very real,” an Arab official was quoted in the article.
Despite recent criticism of Qatar’s hosting of the terrorists, especially considering the October massacre in southern Israel, Hamas leaders have lived in the Persian Gulf nation since 2012 with the tacit support of Washington. U.S. officials have always been apprehensive that, without their current location, the organization might move to a less accessible country such as Iran or Syria.
The relationship between Doha and Hamas is starting to raise criticism among U.S. lawmakers, as Senators Ted Budd (R-NC), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Rock Scott (R-FL) introduced legislation earlier this month to revoke Qatar’s status as a Major Non-NATO ally if they continue their relationship with the jihadists.
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