Weeks after the onset of war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, Qatar’s ambassador to the United States took to the pages of The Wall Street Journal to defend the Gulf nation’s role in mediating between the warring parties.
In an op-ed, Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani said Qatar wanted to counter “false narratives” about why the country has long hosted senior leaders of Hamas.
“The Hamas political office in Qatar was opened in 2012 after a request from Washington to establish indirect lines of communication with Hamas,” Sheikh Meshal said.
He said the office was often used in mediation efforts to “de-escalate conflicts in Israel and the Palestinian territories.”
“The presence of the Hamas office shouldn’t be confused with endorsement but rather establishes an important channel for indirect communication,” he added.
For context: Various Hamas leaders have been based in Qatar since the opening of that office. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ former political leader, lived there for several years before he was assassinated by Israel in Iran in July 2024.
Qatar also opened an office for the Taliban in the 2010s, for use during peace talks over a potential US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The country also hosts the Al Udeid Air Base, the biggest American military facility in the Middle East.
