Iranically Iran, Middle East’s Karen…

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
29,673
11,110
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
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Carney said Canada has supported Qatar's "highly constructive role" (since 2012) in attempts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, which includes efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants for nearly two years.
(just tried to answer the next question before it’s asked, 2011, etc…)
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The official presence of Hamas members in Qatar dates back to 2012, when the group opened an office in Doha. Qatari officials say the office was set up at the request of the United States, though that has not been publicly confirmed by U.S. officials.

Even before the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, the Hamas office in Doha was involved in ceasefire negotiations around the group’s other conflicts with Israel and humanitarian aid coordination for Gaza.

It’s unclear how many Hamas members reside in Doha, but the Qatar office is a base for some of the group’s spokespeople, political officers and their families. Inside Qatar, Hamas members can move freely, meeting with journalists, officials and diplomats at restaurants, hotels and at the group’s offices, which are housed in several villas in and around Doha.

For Hamas, the offices in Doha also held a degree of symbolic power, according to Tamer Qarmout, an associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

“The mere Hamas presence in Qatar [is] based on the blessing of the United States; it’s a kind of back-channel with a superpower,” Qarmout said. “It’s partial legitimacy.”

Qarmout said it is unclear what the Hamas political office will do next, but he added that it is unlikely the group’s leadership will be able to find another country where they will be able to operate freely and securely as they did in Qatar.