Qatar, the ‘source of evil in the Middle East’
The Gulf state is a problem that must be dealt with, say experts.
Qatar, led by Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, today plays a central role in the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. But Yoni Ben-Menachem, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told JNS that the Gulf country is part of the problem in the region, not part of the solution.
Qatar, he said, is “the source of evil in the Middle East.” It preaches against normalization with Israel, and fully supports the ideology of “from the river to the sea,” he explained. According to Ben-Menachem, for many years, Qatar “was deceiving Israel by sending money to Gazans because they wanted a foothold in Gaza.”
And get it they did, he said. “Israel made a big mistake in giving Qatar a foothold in the negotiations to release the hostages,” he added.
The supposed US pressure on Qatar to in turn pressure Hamas “is all a big lie, because the Democratic Party has no leverage on Qatar and they don’t even want to go in that direction,” he said.
The Biden administration has repeatedly stated that it is doing everything in its power to pressure Qatar to get Hamas to agree to a hostage deal.
Critics point out, however, that Qatar is home to the Al-Udeid Air Base, America’s largest military base in the Middle East, and that the Biden administration could easily threaten to move it out of Qatar.
In addition, Qatar is designated as a “major non-NATO ally” by the United States. The Biden administration should be threatening to remove this prestigious designation, critics argue, but has failed to do so.
In May, The Washington Post cited an unnamed US official as saying the Biden administration had told Doha to expel Hamas if the group continues to reject a ceasefire deal with Israel.
That has yet to happen.
“On the contrary, they say Qatar is fighting terrorism,” Ben-Menachem told JNS. “This is the biggest joke.”
A joke because Qatar is the leader of the global Muslim Brotherhood and uses its propaganda arm, Al-Jazeera, to spread malicious lies about America and Israel, he explained.
According to Ben-Menachem, Qatar is more dangerous than Hamas or Hezbollah since it is extraordinarily wealthy and thus in a position to influence US administrations.
Qatar has for many years been involved in financing the campaigns of the Democratic Party, he said, “especially Hillary Clinton’s campaign” in 2016. He added that former US President Bill Clinton is known to have flown to Qatar to bring back suitcases full of cash.
Former President Donald Trump was also under Qatar’s influence, according to Ben-Menachem.
“I’m sure that now they are supporting Kamala Harris as well. We cannot count on them [US administrations],” he added.
Qatar hosts not only Hamas leaders, but also, along with Turkey, Muslim Brotherhood leaders who were banished from Egypt when President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi came to power there, he said.
Doha maintains close ties with Hamas, hosting some senior members, Khaled Mashaal among them. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, too, made Qatar his home before he was killed in Iran last month.
Hamas has maintained an office in Doha since 2012. Prior to this, the terror group had an office in Syria, but relocated following the start of the civil war there in 2011, in coordination with the United States.
Qatar supports Hamas, Hezbollah and the Taliban, and has good ties with Iran.
“Wherever there is terror, Qatar supports it,” said Ben-Menachem.
He admonished Israeli politician and former War Cabinet member Benny Gantz for meeting with Qatar’s Al Thani.
Labeling Gantz “naive,” Ben-Menachem said it was alarming, especially because has served as Israel’s defense minister and knows how involved Qatar is in global terrorism and how it supports Hamas.
Qatar has also spent billions of dollars to buy influence in numerous American universities, with the sole aim of spreading anti-American and anti-Israel propaganda.
The Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) has highlighted the funding of US higher education by Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood.
ISGAP Director Charles Asher Small presented the findings of his institute’s research project, titled “Follow the Money,” to the US Department of Justice in 2019. The study examined the illicit funding of American universities by foreign governments, foundations and corporations that promote anti-democratic and anti-Semitic ideologies, with connections to terrorism and terror financing.
The project revealed, for the first time, the existence of substantial Middle Eastern funding (primarily from Qatar) to US universities that had not been reported to the Department of Education, as required by law.
According to ISGAP, it “uncovered and established that the foreign donations from Qatar, especially, have had a substantial impact on fomenting growing levels of anti-Semitic discourse and campus politics at US universities, as well as growing support for anti-democratic values within these institutions of higher education.”
Texas A&M University decided earlier this year to shutter its branch campus in Qatar.
Under fire and facing accusations of security breaches related to nuclear research, the president of the university, Gen. (ret.) Mark A. Welsh III published a letter in which he claimed, “Texas A&M complies with all US laws and agency regulations that govern how we manage and report international engagements.”
But according to research by the Zachor Legal Institute, Qatar runs the Qatar Foundation, which invests in foreign academic and research institutions including Northwestern, Georgetown, Texas A&M, Carnegie Mellon and Cornell universities.
The institute warned in an article earlier this year that the exposure of Texas A&M “is likely only the tip of the iceberg on how Qatar, directly and indirectly, influences American institutions and public opinion.”
They said it was “critical to continue shedding light on this largely undocumented meddling in American domestic and international affairs.”
It is no secret that the West, including Israel, has deep ties with Qatar.
According to the Human Security Centre, Qatar is “a major arms buyer from the US and an important energy exporter to the West, it hosts an Israeli trade office despite having no formal diplomatic relations since 2009, and since 2018 has been a large benefactor to the Gaza Strip.”
Qatar is estimated to have transferred $1.5 billion to finance public services in Gaza, most of which likely went into building the terror tunnels uncovered by the Israeli military during the war.
Ariel Admoni, a doctoral student specializing in Qatar at Bar Ilan University’s Department of Middle Eastern Studies, told JNS that despite all this, Washington perceives Qatar as an ally, for several reasons.
First, he said, “Qatar invests heavily in the US economy,” adding that “just this week it was announced that Qatar would be funding an initiative in Texas, and in total we’re talking about an estimated $45 billion.”
(According to a Reuters report, the Qatar Investment Authority in 2019 aimed to raise investments in the United States to $45 billion.)
Qatar’s Consul General Sheikha Tamador bint Abdulrahman Al Thani participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of the Riverside Hospital in Houston, Texas, funded by the Qatar Harvey Fund with a contribution of $2.5 million.
Second, according to Admoni, “the United States relies on Qatar to communicate with Iran, the Taliban and according to some reports, also with various factions in Lebanon.”
The third reason, he said, is that Qatar promotes itself as adhering to pro-Western values.
Qatar claims Al-Jazeera is an independent channel exercising press freedom, while the hosting of Hamas is, according to Doha, “due to the US request and an instrument to communicate with the organization in order to bring peace to the region.”
“All false,” said Admoni.
While it appears Israel is playing along with Qatar regarding the ongoing negotiations with Hamas, Admoni explained to JNS that “unlike in the past, Israel’s understanding about Qatar’s charade is improving.”
However, he said Israel appears to believe it must continue involving Qatar in hostage talks since it “doesn’t have another choice,” especially due to Doha’s strong ties with Washington.
Ben-Menachem emphasized the seriousness of the threat posed to Israel by Qatar.
“The ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood doesn’t recognize Israel and wants to destroy the country,” he said. “These are all tricks to weaken Israel.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who also belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, is calling for an Islamic Sunni alliance, with the cooperation of Qatar, to wage war against Israel.
“This is the direction,” warned Ben-Menachem.
Some so-called experts believe “the road to Middle East peace runs through Doha”, but Ben-Menachem strongly suggested that as soon as the war is over, “Israel should cut all relations with Qatar and boycott it.”
“Israel should declare Qatar an enemy state,” he said. “It is the head of the snake.”
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