Fox News\u2019 Peter Doocy confronted the White House Thursday over its friendly overtures to the nation of Qatar for helping to secure the release of American hostages in Gaza despite it being the home of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.<\/p>\n
\u2018Talking about getting Americans out of Gaza, President Biden said, \u2018I want to thank our partners in the region, particularly Qatar.\u2019 The leader of Hamas lives in Qatar, so why is President Biden thanking them for anything?\u2019 Doocy asked.<\/p>\n
\u2018Oh, geez, Peter. Let\u2019s take a step back here and look at this,\u2019 National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby responded, appearing to roll his eyes.<\/p>\n
Doocy pressed him, \u2018They are a terrorist group that killed Americans and kidnapped Americans within the last month.\u2019<\/p>\n
Kirby argued that Qatar had \u2018been helpful\u2019 in getting Americans out of Gaza and that the nation was a \u2018key player\u2019 in the talks for their release.<\/p>\n
\u2018Qatar has lines of communication with Hamas that almost nobody else has. Now, I\u2019m not saying we support Hamas. Of course, we don\u2019t. They\u2019re a terrorist organization, and Israel has an absolute right to go after them. But Qatar has lines of communication that not everybody else has,\u2019 Kirby said.<\/p>\n
He then claimed the administration would bear the brunt of media criticism if they weren\u2019t doing everything they could to get the Americans being held hostage out.<\/p>\n
However, Kirby did not address Doocy\u2019s question over Qatar allowing the leader of Hamas to reside in the country before going on to\u00a0<\/p>\n
Doocy jumped in, \u2018You\u2019re making my point.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018No I\u2019m not. No I\u2019m not,\u2019 Kirby said.<\/p>\n
\u2018If Qatar is so helpful, why aren\u2019t we asking them to hand over the leader of this terrorist group?\u2019 Doocy asked.<\/p>\n
Kirby repeated that the U.S. was working with Qatar to help get American hostages out and humanitarian aid into Gaza, but did not address the Hamas leader being allowed to live in Qatar.<\/p>\n