At the request of the Biden administration, Qatar has agreed to take charge of operating and financing a temporary pier in the Gaza Strip. Qatar agreed to run the port on condition that the construction work go to a company controlled and sponsored by Hamas, according to Israel's Channel 14.
The Biden administration's decision to involve Qatar, Hamas's major funder and ally, in the project is akin to putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop. This is a big, deliberate finger from the Biden administration not just in the in the eye of Israel but also in the eyes of America's allies in the Gulf who do not support terrorists, as well as for US national security.
Placing Qatar -- rather than, say, the United Arab Emirates -- in charge of the Gaza pier entrenches a terrorist-sponsoring Trojan Horse at Hamas's beck and call. Qatar will use the pier to supply Hamas with more money and more powerful weapons. The port will also undoubtedly be used to smuggle Islamist jihadis from all around the world into the Gaza Strip to launch more massacres against Israelis.
Qatar has a long history of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist offshoots, but also Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Hezbollah and the Al Nusra Front (here, here and here). According to the Counter Extremism Project:
"During the Brotherhood's year in power in Egypt, Qatar loaned President Mohammed Morsi's government approximately $7.5 billion.... During Morsi's presidency, funds as high as $850,000 were reportedly secretly transferred to the Brotherhood from Qatar's former Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani."
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, is a radical Islamist organization with affiliates in more than 70 countries, including groups such as Hamas, which is designated by the US as a foreign terrorist organization.
The founder of Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna, a devout admirer of Adolf Hitler and Germany's Nazi regime, said that "it is the nature of Islam to dominate, not to be dominated, to impose its law on all nations and to extend its power to the entire planet."
In his book, The Way of Jihad, he wrote:
"Jihad means fighting the unbelievers and involves all possible efforts that are necessary to dismantle the power of the enemies of Islam, including beating them, plundering their wealth, destroying their places of worship, and smashing their idols."
The book has been described as inspiring jihadists in the Arab world.
In 1948, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood assassinated Egyptian Prime Minister Mahmoud an-Nuqrashi Pasha, who had banned the organization. In 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated by killers who had plotted the attack with Al Gamaa al-Islamiyya, an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, apparently infuriated that he had signed a peace treaty with Israel.
After the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi became president of Egypt in 2013, there were widespread attacks on Christian Coptic churches and Christian institutions. The Facebook page of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was "rife with false accusations meant to foment hatred against Copts," according to American journalist Kirsten Powers. The party's page claimed that the Church had declared "war against Islam and Muslims."
Qatar has been funding Hamas since 2007, when it took over the Gaza Strip from Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority by throwing Palestinian Authority officials from the top floors of high buildings. In 2008, Qatar reportedly pledged $250 million to Hamas one year after the terror group forcibly ousted the Palestinian Authority from the Gaza Strip.
In 2012, Qatar's then Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, became the first head of state to visit the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, after which he pledged an additional $400 million to Hamas.
As the October 7, 2023 massacre of Israelis and the subsequent war have demonstrated, Hamas did not invest the Qatari funds in schools and hospitals and creating job opportunities for the young Palestinians of the Gaza Strip. Instead, Hamas used the funds to strengthen its security apparatus, accumulate weapons, build a network of sophisticated tunnels, and invade Israel.
If Qatar really wants an end to the Israel-Hamas war, all it has to do is order its Hamas puppets immediately and unconditionally to release all the Israelis kidnapped by Hamas terrorists October 7 and held hostage in the Gaza Strip. Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal, who are based in Doha, would not be able to refuse. Qatar is their lifeline.
The Qataris, however, are evidently in no rush to pressure Hamas: Qatar is clearly facing no pressure from the Biden administration. On the contrary, the Biden administration just agreed to extended Qatar's ability to host America's Al-Udeid Air Base, the headquarters of CENTCOM, for another ten years – for nothing in return.
According to former intelligence officer Michael Pregent:
"Congress must weigh in and cancel the 10-year extension of the military base in Qatar, which was quietly done behind the scenes by the Biden White House and fast-tracked as the spotlight on Qatar's seedy ties grew more intense. We need to call Al Jazeera what it is — a foreign agent that promotes terrorism and anti-Israel and anti-American sentiment. We need to move our base out of Qatar and designate Qatar a state sponsor of terror.
Pregent recommends that:
"The U.S. should seize assets tied to individuals and entities in Qatar for supporting terrorist groups, especially those tied to Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism.... It's time to put Doha on notice that they are jeopardizing their relationship with the U.S. by providing material support to designated terrorist groups. Qatar is clearly acting like a state sponsor of terror and should not be allowed to use the U.S. banking system to bypass existing, though not enforced, sanctions on funding Iran and its terrorist proxies."
When Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani asked Secretary of State Antony Blinken on October 13 if he would like the emirate to expel Hamas's rulers -- billionaires who have been comfortably residing in Qatar's capital city -- Blinken reportedly "didn't respond directly to the emir's proposal" and instead suggested that Qatar mediate. The carrots do not seem to be working.
Last week, incidentally, Blinken reportedly did urge "Qatar to threaten Hamas with expulsion from Doha," but as there is no pressure on Qatar to do so, it would be a surprise if they did.
As Hamas's main protector, Qatar has less-than-no incentive to put any pressure on Hamas, and could hardly be considered the most disinterested arbitrator. It is exactly this maneuver, however, that seems to be Qatar's favorite: playing the "arsonist and the firefighter." They support the terrorists, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan or Hamas in Gaza, then, when they hit a speed-bump, Qatar offers to "mediate." It is the perfect perch to make sure that the group one favors comes out ahead. Last week, the stunt worked again: Blinken asked Qatar if they would be in charge of the Gaza pier -- and help pay for it, of course.
The more unhelpful one is, the bigger the bribe. This is the same bunch of carrots that also did not work with Iran.
According to a senior Israeli official.
"Qatari involvement in a port in Gaza would be a dream come true for Hamas and it is too bad that Israel missed the gravity of the situation in time to stop it... The Americans are rushing ahead. The Americans decided to include Qatar despite our reservations. One can only hope that this will be ultimately reversed. Qatar must not have a hold on any port in Gaza."
Instead of punishing Qatar for hosting the Hamas leadership in Doha and continuing to provide financial and political support to Hamas, the Biden administration seems to be working hard to turn the terrorism-sponsoring rulers of the Gulf state into significant players in the Israeli-Arab conflict by giving them control over the proposed temporary port – at the expense of Israel and the other Gulf states.
Many Arabs long ago concluded that Qatar serves as a mouthpiece and funder for the Muslim Brotherhood organization and terrorism.
In 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen all announced that they were cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar because of its connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups. Saudi Arabia said it had cut diplomatic relations owing to Qatar's "embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region," including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, Islamic State (ISIS),and groups supported by Iran in Saudi Arabia's eastern province of Qatif.
In 2021, however, they reluctantly restored ties, reportedly as a gift to then President Donald J. Trump
"Qatar has an interest in this port," said Baruch Yedid, Channel 14's Arab Affairs correspondent.
"Qatar wants to preserve Hamas. Qatar also wants leverage over Hamas. "We've arrived at a situation where the Qataris have control because they're financing. For Hamas, it's good because it's their company. The whole idea was to isolate Hamas as a whole. Here, once again is Qatari-American cooperation and [Hamas] isn't isolated."
Initially, Hamas, according to reports, opposed the Biden administration's plan on the pretext that the temporary pier would allow Israel to establish long-term control over the Gaza Strip. Yet, since learning that Qatar would be involved with operating the pier, Hamas no longer seems to be against the idea. Why should Hamas come out against the Qataris when most of its leaders continue to lead lavish lives in Doha? Even better, Qatar's continued control of Gaza might ensure not just the survival of Hamas as a "resistance" organization but its speedy regrowth? Were it not for Qatar's financial and political support, Hamas could not have grown to a point where it could carry out a large-scale military offensive against Israel on October 7.
"Why is this good for Hamas?" remarked Yedid.
"Hamas views this as a sort of aspirin, that's what people in Gaza are telling us. Hamas is concerned about this pier which they fear will legitimize continuous Israeli presence in Gaza for the long run. Israel, according to our diplomatic sources, opposed the pier plan. The Americans ignored us and assigned the Qataris to run the project. The Qataris didn't only say yes, the Qataris came with an additional demand. The Qataris wanted this port to be built by a company named Al-Hissi from Gaza. This company is the primary supplier for engineering, electricity and infrastructure for Hamas, a lot of the municipalities, local governing councils, transportation infrastructure in Shajaiyya, Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and other locales. It is controlled by, and is a subsidiary of, Hamas."
Yedid revealed that the company also carried out most of Qatar's economic and construction projects in the Gaza Strip over the past few years. The heads of the company have been documented meeting and signing contracts with Qatar's special envoy to the Gaza Strip, Mohammed al-Emadi.
According to Yedid, USAID, the US government's international development agency, will assign the Palestinian Authority (PA) to coordinate the entire project. The Al-Hissi company, registered with the PA, has been enabled to carry out the project.
"So here we've arrived at a point where the Qataris will have control because they're the financiers," Yedid added.
"This is good for Hamas because their company is operating it. The original idea was to isolate Hamas. Here we have another instance – and not a lone instance – of Qatari-American cooperation. Yesterday, a senior Jordanian officer spoke to one of the Arab media outlets and said, 'If Hamas is there, I'm concerned.'"
The US should definitely start withdrawing from Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
Thanks to the Biden administration -- which is also pressuring Israel not to eliminate the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah -- Qatar and its Hamas pawns are having the last laugh. In light of the Biden administration's decision to turn itself into an ally of terrorists and their supporters, such as Hamas and Qatar – instead of strengthening US relations with Israel and its allies in the Gulf who are fighting terrorism -- it is a very long last laugh, indeed.
Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East. The work of Bassam Tawil is made possible through the generous donation of a donor who wished to remain anonymous. Gatestone is most grateful.
Eric Hodgdon