Middle East & Africa | Itinerant Islamists

Quitting Qatar is the least of Hamas’s problems

Farewell to comfortable villas in Doha, hello Turkey

A building illuminated with a portrait of the assasinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, iran
Bye bye byePhotograph: Getty Images
|DOHA AND JERUSALEM

The spacious beige villas in Doha’s northern suburbs were once home to many of the senior leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamists. But they have largely been empty in recent months. Since the last round of American- and Qatari-mediated talks with Israel collapsed in August, the Qataris, once welcoming, have cooled on Hamas. The group’s remaining bosses have been spending more time in Turkey, where Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has received them more warmly.

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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Quitting Qatar”

From the November 16th 2024 edition

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