Manama: Hamas has no plans to set up an office in Qatar, the head of its government in Gaza has said.
“We have no intention to open an office in Doha,” Esmail Haniyeh.
“All of Doha is an office for our movement thanks to the love and cordiality that the Qatari leaders have provided for the Palestinians,” he said in Qatar where he started a new tour, three weeks after he returned to Gaza from a first trip that included Egypt, Sudan, Turkey and Tunisia.
The new tour, Haniyeh’s second since Hamas ousted forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas from Gaza in 2007, also includes Kuwait, Bahrain and Iran.
Soft exit
Amid reports that Hamas is making a soft exit from Syria after it refused to take sides publicly on the country’s deepening political crisis, speculations mounted that the movement will open a bureau in another Arab capital.
Doha, Tunis and Amman were cited as possible new locations for the political wing of the movement.
However, Haniyeh said in Doha that the recent talks between Jordanian and Hamas leaders did not include opening an office in Amman, while last month, Hamas leader Salah Al Bardwell said there was no truth behind plans to open a new office in Tunis.
Haniyeh is expected to leave Doha on Saturday after leading the Friday prayers at the newly opened Mohammad Bin Abdul Wahab Mosque in the Qatari capital.
