Iran isn’t the only state sponsor of Hamas—designated a terrorist group by the United States—which has launched rockets from Gaza into Israel and invaded the Jewish state to shoot, kill, rape, and hold hostage Israelis.
‘One of the Largest Funders of Hamas’
“Qatar is one of the largest funders of Hamas in the world. While it claims to only want to support ordinary Gazans, it is upfront that it works with Hamas to do so. Israel has allowed this, which is a mistake,” Clifford Smith, the Washington Project director at the Middle East Forum, a think tank, told The Epoch Times.“But even if you were to ignore all of that, Qatar is also the single biggest funder of the most radical forms of Sunni Islamism all over the world: in the Arab world, in South Asia, in Africa, and even in the U.S. and Europe, which is what motivates Hamas and their supporters.”
Qatar has used anti-Israel propaganda “through Al Jazeera and other media propaganda and with the help of social media campaigns from its proxies, who continue to spread disinformation about the deaths of civilians in Gaza while whitewashing the terrorism and massacres of Israelis and other victims of the Hamas attack,” foreign policy analyst and human rights lawyer Irina Tsukerman told The Epoch Times.
Qatar is also home to Al Udeid Air Base, where the U.S. Air Force has a presence.
Qatar is also where Mr. Haniyeh and other Hamas terrorists reside luxuriously. But don’t expect Israel to invade the Gulf nation to take them out.
“Israel has neither the means, the right, nor the political will to invade Qatar without Qatar’s direct physical attack on Israel’s territory, which is never going to happen,” Ms. Tsukerman said.
“An attack on another U.S. ally would be catastrophic.
“However, it could certainly deceive Haniyeh and his backers, lure him out of the country and into a location where he could be apprehended, and then bring him into custody.
“That could happen in the future if other measures by other stakeholders are not taken to put an end to the financing and empowerment of Hamas first, including the official expulsion of Haniyeh and a red notice resulting in his arrest.”
Mr. Haniyeh isn’t under any indictment, including by the United States.
Mr. Smith echoed Ms. Tsukerman and said there’s “zero chance” Israel will invade Qatar.
“That said, no Hamas official should feel safe anywhere in the world,” he said. “It is well within the realm of possibility that the Israelis target leaders like Haniyeh for targeted killings much like the Israelis did in the ‘70s against [Palestine Liberation Organization] leaders in Operation Wrath of God in response to the Munich massacre.”
Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin noted that Israel took out PLO personnel in Operation Wooden Leg in 1985 in Tunis, Tunisia. But that probably isn’t how Israel will handle Mr. Haniyeh and other Hamas personnel in Qatar.
“Instead, with Americans among the dead and captive, I suspect Congress will demand the extradition of Haniyeh and other top Hamas leaders, an action that will put Qatar in an uncomfortable position,” he said.
Don’t Expect a Reevaluation of US–Qatar Ties
In light of the Hamas–Israel conflict, the United States should reevaluate its relationship with Qatar, according to a couple of the aforementioned experts.“The Biden administration made a huge mistake in giving Qatar major non-NATO ally status,” Mr. Smith said. “Qatar is always there to help America make a huge mistake, such as ‘helping’ it with the ill-fated de-facto surrender to the Taliban. It is rarely, if ever, there for America when its help would be truly beneficial.”
Ms. Tsukerman said: “The most realistic option given the level of commitment, public and private, on all levels between U.S. officials, institutions, the business community, the media, and soft power organizations is to start with establishing very stringent oversight and a list of clear demands related to Qatar’s role in the security sphere.
“If those demands are not met by the deadlines or violated within a consequent period of time, [the] U.S. can exercise leverage by demoting Qatar from its status as a major non-U.S. ally and taking away other political and economic privileges.”
But both Mr. Smith and Ms. Tsukerman said Washington’s posture toward Doha will likely stay the same.
“I don’t know if America’s relationship with Qatar will change, but I am not optimistic,” Mr. Smith said. “However, the U.S. should put enormous pressure on Qatar to expel all Hamas leadership on their soil and force them to face justice.”
Ms. Tsukerman said: “Given the poor bipartisan leadership record on many issues up until this point and the level of political corruption, I am very skeptical that Qatar will suffer any consequences whatsoever.
“Among other things, it is known for hacking and blackmailing political figures, public officials, and others and can try to use embarrassing and sensitive information as leverage to avoid accountability for its other transgressions.”
“I suspect the days of Qatar being a major non-NATO ally are over. Period,” he said.
But the Biden administration’s words suggest that the United States has no intention of shifting its relationship with Qatar.
State Department press secretary Matthew Miller said on Oct. 10 in response to a question from The Epoch Times that Secretary of State Antony Blinken “has had a number of productive conversations” with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
“We actually think that they are playing a productive role here and continue to be partners of the United States,” Mr. Miller said. “We are asking Qatar, as we are asking every country, to use any influence that they have to keep other parties from coming into this conflict and to secure the release of hostages.”
John Kirby, the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications, told The Epoch Times on Oct. 11 that the United States has “a strong partnership with Qatar including in the military realm.” However, Mr. Kirby acknowledged that “Qatar has a relationship with Hamas; they have communication, and so we’re mindful of that, too.”
When asked whether the United States would do anything to reduce support from Qatar and Turkey to Hamas, Mr. Kirby said: “We have already put Hamas under incredible sanctions just from the United States alone. They are the most sanctioned terrorist group in the world.”
