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Qatar Is Hamas, and Hamas Is Qatar

(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - President Trump's recent statements regarding Qatar's role in reaching the Israel-Hamas ceasefire-hostage deal surprised those who are familiar with the Gulf state's longtime support for radical Islamist groups. Qatar is Hamas's most important financial backer and foreign ally. It has reportedly transferred $1.8 billion to Hamas over the past two decades and has hosted several leaders of Hamas, who lived in hotels and villas in Doha and were treated as heads of state. After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Qatar's foreign ministry released a statement holding "Israel alone responsible" for the massacre. Qatar also uses its television empire, Al Jazeera, to promote Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and other terror groups. After Oct. 7, the network broadcast Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif's call to arms. The Trump administration needs to understand what Arabs have known for years: that Qatar's support for Hamas and other extremist Islamist groups is the main reason thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have died over the past few years. The writer, a veteran Israeli journalist, is a senior fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
2025-02-11 00:00:00
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