Hamas denies reports that members are being expelled from Qatar

JUNE 4, 2017 5:44 P.M. (UPDATED: JUNE 4, 2017 5:44 P.M.)

Ismail Haniyeh (left) and Khalid Meshaal

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Hamas movement denied on Sunday recent reports that the Qatari government had allegedly instructed Hamas, the de facto rulers of the besieged Gaza Strip, to expel a list of Hamas officials from the Qatar's capital, Doha. 

Hamas said the claims -- which were initially reported on Saturday by Lebanese news outlet al-Mayadeen -- were false, saying “this discourse is against the reality and it comes from news outlets accustomed to "disseminating false news and information about the movement to harm its image and try to harm its foreign relations."

The statement went on to imply that some Hamas leaders would “leave Qatar,” but as part of some “reshuffling” following the election of Ismail Haniyeh as the new leader of the movement’s politburo. 

That statement implied that the reshuffling was mainly due to the fact that Haniyeh lives in Gaza, whereas former leader of the politburo Khalid Meshaal lives in exile in Qatar.

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