The Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it "welcomes Qatar’s decision to expel the
head of the Hamas political bureau, Khaled Mashaal, to Turkey." It said the Qatari decision came
after heavy diplomatic pressure from Israel.

"We expect the Turkish government to act responsibly in a similar way," it added.

Hamas officials in both Qatar and Gaza angrily dismissed the Israeli claims.

Izzat Rishq, a top aide to Mashaal, said the claim was wrong. "There is no basis of truth about
brother Khaled Mashaal leaving Doha. We are in Doha now," he told The Associated Press.

Hamas spokesman Hossam Badran in Qatar and Salah Bardawil, a Hamas official in Gaza, also told the AP the
report was false.

In Turkey, the Foreign Ministry said it had no information on a Qatari decision or plans by Mashaal to
relocate to Turkey.

Israel and Hamas, an Islamic militant group sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state, are bitter
enemies. The sides fought a 50-day war last summer that killed more than 2,100 Palestinians in Gaza and
72 people on the Israeli side.

If the claim is true, the expulsion would mark a major setback for Hamas. In recent years, Hamas has
faced growing isolation in the region after disputes with its longtime sponsors, Syria and Iran, and the
downfall of its close ally, former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, who was overthrown by the
military. Mashaal moved to Qatar after the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011.

Facing diplomatic isolation and deep financial problems, Hamas, which seized control of Gaza in 2007,
reluctantly agreed to the formation of a unity government led by its rival, President Mahmoud Abbas,
last year. But the group remains in firm control of the seaside territory.

Asked about the Hamas denial, an Israeli official said the government had received "serious and
reliable information" from "official channels" that the expulsion order had been granted.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter,
refused to say whether Qatar had delivered the news directly. Israel used to have a diplomatic office in
Qatar and still maintains low-level relations with the country.

There was no immediate comment from Qatar, a wealthy Gulf state that has allowed Mashaal to set up a base
there.

Under a deal reached with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia late last year, Qatar agreed to a
number of foreign policy directives that are largely believed to be related to its support of Islamist
groups throughout the region. The details of the Gulf reconciliation agreement have not been made
public.

A number of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood members were forced to leave Qatar last year after the UAE, Saudi
Arabia and Bahrain withdrew ambassadors from Doha. The three Gulf countries had accused Qatar of
interfering in their domestic affairs and of failing to uphold a security pact. Ambassadors were
reinstated after a deal was reached in November.

The following month Al Jazeera’s live channel dedicated to coverage of Egypt was shut down. Egypt had
accused the Qatar-based-and-funded Al-Jazeera news network of bias against the new government and of
supporting the Brotherhood. The network has denied the charges and demanded Egypt free three journalists
imprisoned there from its English-language channel.

___

Daraghmeh reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press writers Fares Akram in Gaza City, Gaza
Strip, Suzan Fraser in Anakra, Turkey, and Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to
this report.