Not Iraq, Syria or Türkiye, This is the Country that Hamas Would Choose if It Moved From Qatar

JAKARTA - A senior official from the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday revealed the country he would choose if the group had to move from Qatar, but the names that appeared were not the countries previously mentioned.

Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk dismissed rumors that the militant group's political leadership would choose Iraq, Syria or Turkey, if they had to leave Qatar, where their political bureau is based.

Marzouk told Iran's al-Alam TV network, "any potential relocation, although it is not currently happening, is to Jordan," quoted from The Times of Israel, April 30.

"Jordan is a country that supports the Palestinian resistance, and Hamas maintains positive relations with the Jordanian government," he explained.

Hamas political leaders were reported earlier this month to be exploring moving their base of operations out of Qatar, as the Gulf state faces increasing pressure over its influence over the group in indirect negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said last week there were no plans to close Hamas' political bureau while mediation efforts were ongoing in the Israel-Hamas war.

"As long as their presence in Doha is, as we have always said, useful and positive in this mediation effort, they will remain here," al-Ansari said at a press conference last Tuesday.

Al-Ansari added that Qatar remained committed to mediation but was reassessing its role in "frustration with attacks" on its efforts.

It is known that Doha often rejects criticism of mediation carried out by Israel, including by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also reiterated last week that Hamas is expected to remain in Qatar. President Erdogan was quoted in the media as saying he did not believe Hamas would abandon its stronghold in Qatar, adding he had also seen no such signs from Doha.

On April 20, President Erdogan received Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul. Haniyeh has been living in Qatar. Hamas has had an office in Turkey since 2011, when Turkey helped secure a deal for the group to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit.