Head of Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, visited on Thursday the 31st International Book Fair in Doha. 

The Qatari Minister of Culture, his excellency Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Thani, received and accompanied Haniyeh during the visit. 

After being briefed on the fair’s activities, the Hamas chief expressed his admiration for the book festival and thanked the organizers and participating bodies. “It presents a collection of valuable books that are beneficial for the generations which contribute to expanding knowledge”. 

Haniyeh added: “Qatar builds up a civilization project and works on building capacities of intellectual people.” 

Haniyeh noted that every visitor to Qatar feels the Qatari leadership’s keenness on enriching the culture and capacity building. “We are in front of a country working towards building a civilized nation, developing knowledge, and fostering free thinking.” 

Haniyeh also toured the Palestinian embassy’s section in the book fair and visited participants from Jerusalem and Palestine.