Qatar has finally decided to give Hama terrorist leadership the boot from Doha after pressure from the United States. The move also comes days after the re-election of President Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States.
A diplomat familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel Saturday that Qatar decided to end its role as mediator between Israel and Hamas amid long-stalled negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
While the news is most welcome, US Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, said it is long overdue. He has been calling for the expulsion or extradition since Jan. 15.
This news is welcome, but long overdue.
— Senator Ted Budd (@SenTedBuddNC) November 8, 2024
I look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration to institute a new policy that projects strength and exerts maximum pressure on Hamas — and any nation or organization that supports them — until each and every hostage is… https://t.co/rBlmOcNrgx
“For months, I led a bipartisan group of Senators to state unequivocally that Qatar should expel Hamas leaders from Doha after refusing reasonable negotiations to release hostages,” he said in a press release Friday. “More than 400 days since October 7th, the Qatari government has finally changed course and done so. I look forward to working with the incoming Trump administration to institute a new policy that projects strength and exerts maximum pressure on Hamas and any nation or organization that supports them until they release each and every hostage, including North Carolinian, Keith Siegel.”
Siegel and his wife Adrienne “Aviva,” former Chapel Hill residents, were among those taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas launched an attack on Israel. The Siegels were humanitarian workers living in Kfar Aza, a kibbutz hit particularly hard in the brutal Hamas attacks.
Aviva and 17 of the hostages were released last November.
Budd got a firsthand look at the devastation left by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre at Kibbutz Nir Oz in Israel, along with a bipartisan, bicameral congressional delegation (CODEL) to the Middle East in early January.
The diplomat told the newspaper that Qatar decided since neither side was willing to negotiate in good faith. With the country no longer mediating, he said there is no reason for Hamas to keep its offices in the country.
The newspaper also said that the diplomat, who is not American, also confirmed Friday’s revelation by the US that Doha told Hamas officials late last month to leave the country but appeared to deny that the decision was taken in connection with a request from the Biden administration.
Budd, along with other senators, including fellow Republican and North Carolinian US Sen. Thom Tillis, has been among those urging Qatar for months to step up the pressure with negotiations with Hamas for the release of the hostages.
In April, the US Senate blocked the invoking of unanimous consent of a bill introduced by Budd despite his impassioned plea. The legislation would have put pressure on leaders in Qatar, where leaders of Hamas took refuge, and possibly start the process of releasing hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including Siegel.
Footage showing Siegel was also released by Hamas in April. It was unclear when the recording took place.
Hamas has suffered a series of setbacks, including last month when Israeli Defense Forces killed Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas and the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Budd had said that Sinwar was a “terrorist leader who had American blood on his hands.”
Also on Friday, Budd joined a letter to the Department of Justice and Department of State requesting an immediate freeze on the assets of Hamas officials living in Qatar, the extradition of several senior Hamas officials currently residing in Qatar, and that Qatar end its hospitality of Hamas’ senior leadership.