Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, has been invited to Moscow. The invitation was extended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during an Aug. 3 meeting in Doha. Meshaal remains in Doha under the auspices of the Qatari emirate, but his relations with the current emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, are nothing more than correct. The financial assistance being provided isn’t the same as under the previous emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, but as long as Meshaal is able to run the movement’s affairs from the emirate, he cannot complain.

Like the rest of the movement’s leaders, Meshaal is looking high and low for a solution to Hamas’ existential problem and the intolerable plight of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. With the almost complete disconnect between Hamas and Iran and the latter’s discontinuation of military aid, Saudi Arabia has now become the movement’s patron du jour. At the same time, Qatar’s assistance has been reduced to a minimum in light of the reconciliation between Doha and Cairo and the categorical demand by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that Qatar not funnel money to Hamas, which has been accused of assisting the jihadist organizations in the Sinai Peninsula.

In May 2006, another delegation of Hamas leaders headed by Meshaal held a working meeting in Moscow with the Russian foreign minister two months after Hamas had formed its first government. In the background was a demand by the Quartet — the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States — that the movement recognize Israel and accept the peace accords the Palestinians had signed with Israel if it wanted to be recognized by the international community and have Israel lift the economic sanctions it had imposed on Hamas and Gaza that were then followed by the United States and the West.

A horde of journalists, myself included, waited outside the Foreign Ministry in Moscow after Meshaal entered the building. The meeting lasted less than half an hour. Meshaal kept reiterating his negatives in response to the Quartet’s three principles — no to recognizing Israel, no to accepting the agreements with Israel and no to ending jihad against Israel.

Lavrov instantly realized with whom he was dealing and dismissed Meshaal an hour before their meeting was scheduled to end. Meshaal was quick to speak to reporters and reiterate his three answers. That was a missed opportunity. What he should have done was act like a politician and give Lavrov some indication that there was room to discuss the Quartet’s principles and that the proposals would be examined. Instead, he was arrogant and intractable. Now Hamas is begging for its life.

Read the article in full at Al-Monitor.