Why does Qatar, the largest funder and sponsor of Hamas, have such a strong desire to restore the Palestinian Authority (PA) to the Gaza Strip? To guarantee Hamas's continued domination of the Gaza Strip.
Qatar has no problem with the PA, which was expelled from the Gaza Strip by Hamas in 2007, taking up its duties there again as long as Hamas is permitted to maintain its grasp on power and preserve its security and military forces and capabilities.
Qatar wants the PA government to collect the garbage, rebuild destroyed houses, and pay salaries to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas is busy rearming, regrouping and getting ready for the next attack on Israel.
Hamas has sustained enormous losses since the beginning of the war it started on October 7, 2023, when thousands of its terrorists and "ordinary" Palestinians invaded Israel, murdering 1,200 Israelis, wounding thousands, and kidnapping more than 250 others. The Qataris seem to realize that Hamas cannot undertake the task of rebuilding the Gaza Strip on its own. They also seem to understand that the international community will not agree to transfer funds to the Gaza Strip through Hamas. Qatar needs the PA in the Gaza Strip to facilitate the flow of millions of dollars in Western aid. The aid anyway should be supervised by international parties and donors, including the US, to make sure it is not stolen.
Two days after the announcement of the ceasefire-hostage agreement between Israel and Hamas, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Abdulrahman Al Thani said that Doha hopes for the return of the PA to the Gaza Strip. Lasting peace in the Gaza Strip, he added, depends on Israel and Hamas showing good faith: "If they proceed in good faith, this will continue, and hopefully lead to a permanent ceasefire."
This statement by the Qatari official, whose country has long supported and hosted the leaders of the terrorist group, was not made out of affection for the PA. Qatar's financial and political backing of Hamas has caused tensions between the PA and Qatar over the past two decades. PA officials have frequently criticized Qatar for backing their rivals in Hamas.
Earlier this month, the PA-Qatar crisis reached its peak when the PA government in Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinians in the West Bank, decided to suspend the broadcasts of the Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera television for supporting and promoting Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups. Israel and some Arab states had also shut down the broadcasts for the same reason.
According to a recent investigative report by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI):
"Among the Islamist terrorist organizations that Qatar and Al-Jazeera have supported over the years are the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Hezbollah, the Al-Nusra Front/ Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham, ISIS, Hamas, and even the Shiite proxies in Yemen, Ansar Allah (the Houthis)..."
If the Palestinian Authority is allowed to operate in the Gaza Strip while Hamas is still in power, another slaughter of Israelis, most likely worse than the October 7 carnage, will occur. The Qataris do not want the PA in the Gaza Strip to rein in Hamas and other terrorist groups, or to prevent attacks against Israel. Instead, they want the PA to act as a front to maintain Hamas's hold on power -- as a cover for keeping Hamas in power. That is the main reason Qatar has refrained from calling on Hamas to cede control over the Gaza Strip in the wake of the catastrophe the terrorist group brought on the two million residents there.
If it truly cared about the safety and well-being of the Palestinians, Qatar would have stopped supporting Hamas and insisted that the terrorist group relinquish control of the Gaza Strip. After all these years, however, Qatar chose to do the exact opposite. Hamas was able to expand and strengthen its hold on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip thanks to Qatar's political and financial backing.
If Qatar truly cared about the Palestinians, it would not have allowed Al-Jazeera to act as a mouthpiece for Hamas and other Jihadist groups responsible for the death of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians.
Qatar has one main purpose: to safeguard its friends in Hamas, continue promoting radical Islam, and deceive Westerners into believing that the Jihadists are a better alternative to the Arab world's present regimes. Whether the new US administration will be as gullible as other Westerners in trusting Qatar remains to be seen.
Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.