American imperialist agenda will prevent Hamas’s expulsion from Qatar

Empowering Weak & Oppressed

Crescent International

Dhu al-Qa'dah 05, 1445 2024-05-13

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

Over the past few weeks, Israeli propaganda outlets have reported that the US is putting pressure on Qatar to expel Hamas’s political leadership from Doha.

This is not the first time the zionists have peddled such claims.

Similar propaganda pieces were published in 2017.

While such headlines attempt to frame the presence of Hamas in Qatar as the sheikhdom’s independent decision, closer analysis reveals a different story.

It is not in Washington’s interest to have Hamas expelled from Doha.

Why this is the case requires an understanding of Qatar’s role in the US-imposed regional order.

Even when Tel Aviv had no official relations with any of the GCC regimes, Qatari rulers openly hosted an Israeli Chamber of Commerce delegation.

Qatar also hosts a large US military base at al-Udeid.

Hamas is not only a Palestinian resistance movement, it is also a regional player.

It has achieved immense regional influence and has significant sway over public opinion in the Muslim Ummah.

An unelected and corrupt Qatari regime does not possess enough political clout to host an organization like Hamas of its own free will.

The region is geopolitically too important for the Washington.

At the same time, it is also extremely hostile to US imperialism, for obvious reasons.

Thus, a tiny sheikhdom cannot make such a major decision on its own.

It is Washington that has given Doha the greenlight to host Hamas.

To be clear, this does not mean that Hamas has any working relationship with the US.

Political and military enemies, however, do maintain lines of communication using various indirect channels.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) maintained a line of communication with the mushriks of Makkah.

The fourth Khalifah, Ali ibn Abu Talib (ra) maintained some communications with the Umayyad rebels.

During the cold war, the US and USSR were in regular contact as well.

This is how intelligent politics is practiced.

Prior to 2011, Qatar was acting as a bridge for the US into the Muslim Ummah via the Ikhwani influenced Muslim masses and through scholars like Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

In Washington’s calculations, Hamas’s presence in Doha allows it to study the pulse of the Arab street.

It also hopes to keep track of the Islamic resistance movement’s influence on the wider Arab world and beyond.

Further, it facilitates projection of the US-backed Qatari puppet regime as an “independent” regional player.

Apart from strategic political considerations, allowing Hamas leaders to be present in Qatar provides the US an opportunity to spy on the movement’s activities.

Hamas is certainly aware of this and has most certainly taken steps to mitigate against US snooping.

Qatar and the US are not the only ones that have a say in Hamas leadership’s presence in Doha.

Türkiye plays a part in this as well.

After the 2011 uprisings in the Arab world, Türkiye attempted to position itself as a patron of “Sunni” Islamic movements.

This mantle was bestowed upon it by the US for Ankara to play its destructive role in Syria.

For Türkiye to have political reach into the Arab world, it needs Qatar’s money, its lobbying power in Washington and an Arab veneer.

Türkiye-Qatar relations and the presence of Hamas in Doha provides Ankara with direct political extension into Palestine and beyond.

Although the above listed reasons are important, there are other factors also at work.

The primary reason why the US, Türkiye and Qatar will not expel Hamas’s political leadership is because the latter will simply move to Iran.

It is the only principled supporter of the Palestinian resistance.

The events of October 7 completely discredited US-backed Arab dictators in the region.

If Hamas moves to Tehran or one of the capitals of the states comprising the Axis of Resistance, Iran will further boost its political clout in the region.

Considering America’s greatly degraded and rapidly declining regional standing, Washington is unlikely to shoot itself in the foot by such a move.