(Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Ehud Yaari - Calls for Palestinian restraint fall on deaf ears as long as certain other players are continually encouraging Palestinian youth to resort to violence. But the U.S. has leverage among a number of these players and should use it. Qatar, recently crowned by the U.S. as a major non-NATO ally, has become the primary cheerleader for Palestinian terrorism. Its ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, directs his media empire led by al-Jazeera to pour oil onto the flames. For years Qatar has been hosting and financing Hamas leadership, including many operatives involved in initiating attacks on Israel. The U.S. should back Israel by serving notice that Qatar's financial assistance to the Palestinians will no longer be permitted as long as Qatar persists in encouraging violence. A principled policy aimed at changing the bloody rules of the game should have been enacted years ago, but it isn't too late to do so now. A good first step would be to persuade Jordan, Egypt, the Emirates, Morocco and others to denounce the Palestinians' violation of the sanctity of the al-Aqsa mosque. The writer, a fellow with the Washington Institute, is a veteran commentator for Israeli television.
2022-04-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive