WATCH: Biden admin grilled for friendly overtures to Qatar, where Hamas leader lives
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby clashed with Fox News' Peter Doocy over the Biden administration's friendly overtures towards Qatar despite a Hamas leader living there.
Fox News’ 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.
"Talking about getting Americans out of Gaza, President Biden said, ‘I want to thank our partners in the region, particularly Qatar.’ The leader of Hamas lives in Qatar, so why is President Biden thanking them for anything?" Doocy asked.
"Oh, geez, Peter. Let's take a step back here and look at this," National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby responded, appearing to roll his eyes.
Doocy pressed him, "They are a terrorist group that killed Americans and kidnapped Americans within the last month."
Kirby argued that Qatar had "been helpful" in getting Americans out of Gaza and that the nation was a "key player" in the talks for their release.
"Qatar has lines of communication with Hamas that almost nobody else has. Now, I'm not saying we support Hamas. Of course, we don't. They're a terrorist organization, and Israel has an absolute right to go after them. But Qatar has lines of communication that not everybody else has," Kirby said.
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He then claimed the administration would bear the brunt of media criticism if they weren’t doing everything they could to get the Americans being held hostage out.
However, Kirby did not address Doocy’s question over Qatar allowing the leader of Hamas to reside in the country before going on to
Doocy jumped in, "You're making my point."
"No I'm not. No I'm not," Kirby said.
"If Qatar is so helpful, why aren't we asking them to hand over the leader of this terrorist group?" Doocy asked.
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.
