The foreign minister of Qatar denied rumors that the country will expel the leader of Hamas, the New York Times reported Monday.
A Turkish newspaper reported last week that Qatar would expel Khaled Mashaal from the country. Hamas officials also dismissed those reports last week.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry last week issued a statement saying it welcomed Qatar's decision to expel Hamas political bureau head Khaled Mashaal to Turkey. It said the Qatari decision came after heavy diplomatic pressure from Israel.
Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah denied there were any such plans.
"These are just rumors that are targeted at changing Qatar's policies toward the Palestinian people. Khaled Meshaal is a dear guest in Qatar and he is in his country," he told reporters in response to a question during a news conference with his visiting Venezuelan counterpart, Delcy Rodriguez.