There is a tiny country on the coast of the Persian Gulf, known for being prosperous but also two-faced.
In the capital, skyscrapers are towering next door, and the news channel al-Jazeera operates there. In 2022, the country will host the soccer World Cup. Frequent news about human rights violations and oppression of foreign workers tarnished its reputation.
It is 160 kilometers long and 80 kilometers wide Qatar.
Qatar is mostly rocky desert, sand dunes and salt flats. However, the country has oil, making it one of the richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. Residents is three million, but only ten percent are Qatari citizens.
Now Qatar has become the focal point of world politics.
The emirate is one of the most important allies of the United States in the Middle East, but at the same time it supports the extremist organization Hamas in Gaza and offers its political leaders safe harbor in Doha.
Hamas is at war with another important US ally, Israel. So the US tolerates its important ally protecting its other important ally’s blood enemy. How did it come to this?
Professor of Middle Eastern Studies Hannu Juusola explain how a seemingly nonsensical equation makes sense.
– Qatar has an ideologically positive attitude towards Islamist organizations, but the central aim of its foreign policy has been to get into the role of a mediator, Juusola states.
Qatar involved in negotiations on Gaza
Qatar, alone or together with other countries, has acted as a negotiator between Hamas, Israel and the United States.
– Qatar aims to prove that it plays an important role in the region’s politics, says Juusola.
Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani works purposefully in order to position his country as a geopolitical force. In the background is not only the pursuit of appreciation, but also a way to survive under the pressure of large neighbors.
During the Gaza war, Qatar has participated in various negotiations. They have led to these things:
At the same time, Qatar has repeatedly publicly sided with Hamas against Israel.
When Hamas invaded Israel from Gaza in early October and brutally killed at least 1,200 people, Qatar released a statement that attracted attention. According to it, Israel was solely responsible for the escalation of violence with the Palestinians.
And when Israel launched a ground attack on Gaza at the end of October, Qatar strongly condemned the attack, calling the military action collective punishment and genocide.
Authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza say more than 23,000 people have been killed in the attack so far. Most of them are children and women.
Hamas leaders live in Doha
Political leaders of the terrorist organization Hamas have lived in Doha, the capital of Qatar, since 2012, and Hamas has an office there.
Anonymous Qatari sources have told, among others, the news agency AFP and the American for the public broadcaster NPRthat the office was opened in agreement with the President of the United States Barack Obama’s with the administration.
Qatar has maintained contacts with organizations and countries with which the US or Europe do not want to work directly. So, if necessary, it has been able to act as a mediator in addition to Hamas, for example with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Afghanistan’s Taliban and Iran.
In recent weeks, the world’s media have reported on the luxury life of Hamas leaders in Doha. The three Hamas leaders who live in Doha are said to have assets totaling around ten billion euros.
This autumn, an Israeli was among the first to tell about the wealth of the Hamas leaders Times of Israel – online magazine.
Several Israeli ministers and officials have published pictures related to the topic on social media. This has been done, for example, by the minister May Golanpreviously worked in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lorena Khateeb and working under the Prime Minister Ofir Kendelman.
Qatar has been giving money to Gaza for years
Perhaps the most startling are the reports that Qatar has been financing Hamas’ activities in Gaza for years. According to Qatar’s explanations, the money goes to the salaries of the Gazan authorities, in practice that means to the authorities working in the Hamas administration, or as humanitarian aid to the Gazans in need.
For example, the news agency Reuters and the French television channel of france24.com however, the interviewed experts estimate that Qatar’s money ends up directly in the hands of Hamas. At most, Qatar pays or has paid Hamas 30 million dollars a month.
Qatari money has been flowing into Gaza since 2014. Professor Juusola believes that the total amount will reach billions of euros. According to him, both Israel and the United States have been aware of it.
– It has had strong support from Israel and the United States. When Qatar considered ending support, Israel tried to influence Qatar not to do so, says Juusola.
According to him, Israel has had two main reasons for allowing Qatar’s support. Thus, Israel has not itself had to pay the costs of the occupation of Gaza. But above all, Israel has gained political benefit from it.
Qatar’s funding has been directed only to Hamas-administered Gaza, not to the self-governing West Bank of the Palestinian Authority.
– Israel benefits from the fact that the Palestinians are divided. It has been the prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu the cornerstone of politics.
Criticism towards Qatar is growing
Now, criticism of the relations between Qatar and Hamas has grown in Israel and the United States. Most of the criticism has come in the United States from the ranks of the Republicans.
For example, a senator from Utah Mike Lee wrote in late November on the short messaging service X that Qatar has blood on its hands and that President Joe Biden should demand that Qatar arrest Hamas leaders and seize their assets.
Also the US Secretary of State Antony Blinkenwho rushed into his first tour of the Middle East just days after the Hamas attack, warned Arab countries against links to Hamas, as you can see in the video below:
However, Blinken praised US-Qatar relations, as did the defense minister who visited Qatar in mid-December Lloyd Austin too. You can see Austin’s praise here:
American news channel CNN reported last week that the United States has quietly agreed to extend its military presence in Al Udeid for ten years. Also the President of the United States Joe Biden has repeatedly emphasized Qatar’s important role, Juusola points out.
If so much political pressure was applied to Qatar that it would drive the leaders of Hamas out of the country, Lebanon, Iran or Malaysia could be ready to receive them, Juusola estimates. According to him, Iran would offer Hamas the safest and most positive operating environment.
– The problem is that the negotiation possibilities with Hamas would be significantly weakened. Iran cannot play such a role.
Sources: AFP, Reuters