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November 28, 2024

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Barclays fined $50M for failing to disclose 2008 Qatari funding

The UK-headquartered bank will pay a fine of 40 million pounds to British regulators for failing to disclose information of its rescue by Qatar during the 2008 financial crisis.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) poses beside Khalid Mashaal (C), the Hamas chief in exile, and Gaza's prime minister Ismail Haniyeh prior to their meeting in Ankara on June 18, 2013. Senior leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas met today in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to discuss Erdogan's planned visit to the Gaza Strip as well as the situation in Syria, the source said on condition of anonymity. AFP PHOTO/ PRIME MINISTER PRESS OFFICE/ YASIN BULBUL == RESTRICTED T

Analysis

Will Turkey host Hamas leaders after consequential Qatar departure?

Pro-Muslim Brotherhood groups and leaders in Turkey enjoyed few restrictions on their activities in the past but are now seeing their activities curtailed.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

After UAE visit, Qatari PM holds talks in Iran as Hamas officials depart Doha

A Gulf political official told Al-Monitor on Wednesday that the Qatari prime minister's visit to the UAE is designed to communicate Doha's new policy toward Hamas, where it seeks to be more in alignment with them regarding the group.

Hamas's chief representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan (L), Hamas Arab relations chief Khalil al-Hayya (C) and Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command Talal Naji arrive for a press conference during a visit to Damascus, Syria, Oct. 19, 2022.

Reports Hamas' political bureau relocated to Turkey false, Turkish sources say

Turkish diplomatic sources refutes claims of Hamas political leaders relocating from Qatar to Turkey, following media reports.

Latest News

In reshuffle, Qatar emir replaces 6 ministers, intel chief: What we know

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani looks, in Lusail, Qatar, on Oct. 13, 2023.

Qatar tells Hamas leaders to leave as Gaza cease-fire talks deadlocked

Mourners offer their condolences to senior member of Hamas' political bureau Musa Abu Marzuk (C) during the funeral of the slain Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, in Doha on August 2, 2024.

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Analysis

Beyond congratulations, Trump faces changed, eastward-looking Gulf

US President Donald Trump (L) speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May smile during a family photo session at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Photo by KIM KYUNG-HOON / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read KIM KYUNG-HOON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

What's significance of UAE's Sheikh Tahnoon third visit to Qatar in a year?

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, and Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser, in Doha on Sunday

United Arab Emirates

Jennifer Gnana

Gulf Correspondent

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

Vanessa Ghanem

In Dubai, reporting on business, energy and politics

Kate Dourian

In Dubai, reporting on energy

Karen Young

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional energy

An Egyptian woman gestures during a protest against what they say is Qatar's backing of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi's government, outside the Qatari Embassy in Cairo November 30, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX15Z5S

Egypt-Qatar rapprochement rattles Hamas

Hamas is concerned that the rapprochement between Egypt and Qatar will result in Doha downgrading its ties with the Palestinian Islamist movement.

Iran's Ebrahim Sadeghisenjani (L) fights for the ball with Palestine's Rafat Ayyad (C) and Abdallatif Albahdari during their West Asian Championship soccer match in Tehran August 7, 2008. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad (IRAN) - RTR20Q54

Outrage as Palestinian soccer team cancels friendly with Iran

The Palestinian soccer team canceled a friendly match with Iran, sparking online outrage that it was at the instigation of Iran's competitors.

Israeli attack intensifies Syrian anger, despair

Syrians on social media mock “right to respond”; US says Syrian rebels will not overthrow Assad; Syrian patriarch pleads for peace; Russia steps up diplomacy; Jumblatt sees no future for Assad; Turkey’s shadow government; Qatar and Turkey draw congressional ire over support for Hamas.

From L-R: The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) Assistant Secretary General Abdullah bin Juma al-Shibli, United Arab Emirates' Oil Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Qatar's Minister of Energy and Industry Mohammed Saleh al-Sada, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi, Bahrain's Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed al-Khalifa, Kuwait's Minister of Finance Mustafa al-Shamali and Oman's Oil Minister Mohamed bin Hamad Al Rumhi pose for a group photo during a meeting of Gulf Arab oil ministers in Riyadh Sept

Egypt cautiously accepts reconciliation with Qatar

Egypt has accepted a Gulf initiative launched by Saudi Arabia to achieve reconciliation between Cairo and Doha, with the former stressing that Qatar stop supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a rare public appearance at an Ashoura ceremony in Beirut's southern suburbs November 3, 2014. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR4COLH

Recent events a good sign for Lebanon

Developments among parties in Lebanon as well as between Iran and the P5+1 might ultimately lead to solutions to Lebanon's current political stalemate.

A street vendor chews qat, a mild stimulant, as he sits by his vegetable stall at a market place in the Old Sanaa city March 19, 2014. Qat dominates life in Yemen, where most men spend half the day chewing it, even at work, and experts say it is ravaging Yemen's frail economy and sucking up precious water. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR3HSAZ

Development plan needed for peace in Yemen

The Gulf Initiative has failed to bring peace to Yemen, prompting the need for a new initiative that is more realistic and includes a long-term economic and development plan.

Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Fahmy stands behind bars at a court in Cairo May 15, 2014. The trial of three Al Jazeera journalists, including Fahmy, accused of aiding of a "terrorist organisation" has been postponed to May 22 after the judge on Thursday authorised the defence to examine the evidence being held by the prosecution. The Qatar-based television network's journalists - Peter Greste, an Australian, Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian national, and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian - were detained in Cair

Media wars hamper Qatari-Egypt relations

As Qatari and Egyptian media outlets engage in a bitter tug-of-war, diplomatic efforts continue at senior levels to tone down the rhetoric.

Beitar Jerusalem's new player Dzhabrail Kadiyev (R) plays during a match against Bnei Sakhnin as part of the Israeli Premier League, at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem February 10, 2013. There was heightened security at Sunday's match following last week's arraignment of four fans in connection with racist incitement against the team's recruitment of Muslim players. REUTERS/Nir Elias (JERUSALEM - Tags: SPORT SOCCER POLITICS) - RTR3DLJ2

Israeli soccer team honors alleged spy for Hezbollah

In an interview with Al-Monitor, the spokesperson of Israel's Bnei Sakhnin soccer team explains that it honored former Knesset member Azmi Bishara because he facilitated Qatari financial support.

Followers of the Shi'ites Houthi group shout slogans as they celebrate Eid al-Ghadir in Sanaa October 12, 2014. The celebration marks al-Ghadir day, a day Shi'ites believe Prophet Muhammad nominated his cousin, Imam Ali, to be his successor. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) - RTR49UNU

Houthi victories in Yemen make Saudi Arabia nervous

The rapid victories of the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen make Saudi Arabia worry that Iran is surrounding the kingdom.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal talks during a news conference in Doha July 23, 2014. Meshaal said he was ready to accept a humanitarian truce in Gaza where the Islamist group is fighting an Israeli military offensive, but would not agree to a full ceasefire until the terms had been negotiated. REUTERS/Stringer (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3ZVSR

Hamas denies Qatar is pushing it to leave

Hamas officials have strenuously denied news reports that Qatar might extend its decision to expel Muslim Brotherhood leaders to include Hamas leaders residing in Doha.

Nuns hold candles during a candle-lit vigil at the Balamand Monastery in Koura, near the north Lebanese city of Tripoli, to call for the release of bishops kidnapped in northern Syria two months ago, June 22, 2013. Greek Orthodox Patriarch John Yazigi led the candle-lit vigil on Saturday for Greek Orthodox archbishop Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, appealing to their kidnappers to free them and urging Syrian security forces to do more to win their release. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (L

Qatar foreign minister believes abducted bishops still alive

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah said that he has obtained information that two bishops kidnapped in Syria last year are still alive.

Hezbollah supporters wave Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags as they listen to their leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressing his supporters during a rally to mark "Quds (Jerusalem) Day" in Beirut's southern suburbs July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTR4056R

Gaza war brings Hamas, Hezbollah closer

The war on Gaza offers an opportunity to renegotiate the strategic relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah, whose relationship has been severed over the past three years, providing major obstacles can be overcome.