http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-hamas-leadership-to-relocate-from-syria-to-qatar-1.358956
Latest update 08:59 30.04.11
Report: Hamas leadership to relocate from Syria to Qatar
After years in exile in Damascus, the Hamas political leadership, headed by
Khaled Meshaal, will leave the Syrian capital for the Arab emirate city just
days after historic Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal.
Hamas' Syria-based leader, Khaled Mashaal and other senior Hamas officials are
planning to relocate from Syria to the Arab emirate city of Qatar, Army Radio
reported on Saturday.
Quoting London-based Arab daily Al-Hayat, Army Radio reported that Qatar had
agreed to host the leaders after Egypt and Jordan denied the request, but
refused to host the party's military leaders.
Hamas' exiled political chief Khaled Meshal
Photo by: AP
More than 15 members of Hamas's Political Bureau have been operating in exile
in Damascus since 1999.
According to the report, Hamas' military echelon will relocate to the Gaza
strip. There was no mention of a reason for the relocation, which will come
just days after Hamas and the leading West Bank party Fatah signed an historic
reconciliation deal.
On Wednesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement hammered an
historic reconciliation deal with the rival Hamas group, agreeing to form an
interim government and fix a date for general election within the year.
The deal, which took many officials by surprise, was thrashed out in Egypt and
followed a series of secret meetings.
Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar insisted that Hamas was united in its move toward a
unity government, however, it is still unclear how widespread that agreement
is.
Abbas has been making a heavy push for reconciliation with Hamas, with which it
held a unity government that collapsed during a five-day civil war in 2007 and
ended with the Islamic militant group seizing power in the Gaza Strip. Fatah
had already signed the reconciliation agreement in October 2009, but Hamas had
until now refused to give up on demands it had set before the rival group.
Restoring Palestinian unity is seen as crucial to reviving any prospect for a
Palestinian state based on peaceful co-existence alongside Israel. Fatah, the
mainstream Palestinian movement until a 2006 election victory by Hamas, backs
negotiated peace but the Islamists reject it.
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