Humanitarian masquerade: Qatar funds terror and helps no one but itself - opinion

• Published date: 13 April 2024
• Author: ARIEL ADMONI
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The mediator role earned Qatar both praise and scrutiny. The latter caused Qatari officials to explain: "Dialogue shouldn't be confused with endorsement. We talk to different groups because we believe that open channels of communication are the only way to build trust and resolve differences."

But Qatar is far from being a fair mediator between Israel and Hamas. In May 2021, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha. According to the official statement, the emir reiterated "Qatar's support to the brotherly Palestinian people and their just cause."

In the eyes of the leadership, Hamas is not a terror organization. Evidence of this sentiment appeared in his first interview as the emir of Qatar. Sheikh Tamim defended his country against allegations of funding terrorism. "I know that in America and some countries they look at some movements as terrorist movements.... But there are differences. There are differences... Some countries and some people [think] that any group which comes from [an] Islamic background are terrorists. And we don't accept that." It would be a "big mistake," he said, to consider every Islamic movement to be "extremists."

Moreover, Qatar provided Hamas with massive financial support estimated in the millions, according to one report last August. This economic assistance is not new. Already in 2012, Qatar's then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani visited Gaza and donated $400 million to Hamas. This support has become almost self-evident. When Qatar decided to reduce the money transferred to the Gaza Strip, Hamas announced its refusal to transfer to the people of Gaza the money they had already received.

The current conflict didn't change the Qatari sentiment. Haniyeh and the rest of the Hamas leadership watched and celebrated the Oct. 7 invasion from the safety of their Qatar office. Hosting Hamas leaders is just one of Qatar's many ways of supporting Hamas. Parades in support of the Palestinians were observed throughout Qatar, parades that required permission from the Qatari authorities.

Far from neutral: How Qatar funds terrorist groups in the Middle East

Qatar's lack of neutrality was expressed in its first response after the Hamas attack. While the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for restraint on all sides, Qatar was even less equivocal, saying Israel was "solely responsible for the ongoing escalation." In its attempt to return to the role of mediator, Qatar slightly dialed...