Hamas's political bureau chief, Khaled Meshaal, started an official visit to Qatar over the weekend aimed at updating the political leadership in Doha with the latest developments on the Palestine Issue. The visit comes after the announcement of the imminent launch of direct talks between President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority and Israel on 2nd September in Washington.

A media source in Qatar stated that the country's Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani held on Saturday, 28th August, a meeting with the chief of Hamas' political bureau, during which they discussed at length recent developments. The source didn't mention further details.