Qatar; the fox guarding Israel - the hen house

Most of us never heard of Qatar until a couple of decades ago, but the 160 km. long strip of land, defined as a peninsula, makes up the entire country which is enjoined to Saudi Arabia and whose total landmass is slightly more than 10,000 square kilometers. 

It came into existence in 1766 when the Khalifah family, which subsequently became the country’s rulers, migrated from Kuwait along with others. Later, it became a British protectorate following Ottoman rule in the early 1900s, gaining its independence in 1971. Today, it is run by a monarchy and has a population of 2.6 million.   

But how did they develop into the uber-wealthy, powerful sanctuary for Hamas senior leaders who live in luxury, far from the ravages of the Gaza war? Back in 1935, the country “signed a concession agreement with the Iraq Petroleum Company and four years later, oil was discovered. The revenues from the oil rose dramatically, culminating in a 1972 coup that made way for the Thani dynasty to come into power and Britain to leave. In 1995, another coup took place which resulted in Sheikh Hamad, Sheikh Khalifa’s son seizing control.”

By then, billions of dollars from oil revenues had been amassed. As the demand for natural gas grew, so did their economy, quickly causing them to rise to a place of prominence, almost overnight, gaining them the status of a formidable regional player.  Taking full advantage of their success, they sponsored the infamous Arab news outlet Al Jazeera, known for its very biased coverage of Palestinians while constantly depicting Israel in a very dishonest light. 

From there, Qatar sought to create strategic connections with countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, as well as different Middle East Muslim groups. This aided them in taking on the role of a mediator, brokering conflicts and disputes in the region. Choosing sides, they determined who they would support and who they wouldn’t. One example was Libya, as they provided money and weapons to those who were opposed to the leader Muammar al-Qaddafi. In Syria, they failed to support those who wanted to overthrow Bashar al-Assad.  

Finally, in 2013, they made another bad choice when they backed the Muslim Brotherhood, angering many Arab neighboring countries. It wasn’t until they began to distance themselves from the rebel group and support Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s subsequent president that they regained favor. 

But their love affair with terrorists never really ended and in 2017, they, again, supported terrorists and cozied up with Iran, putting them on the outs with others who attempted to economically strangle them. It was then that they used their massive financial gains and tried their hand at innovation. Importing cows, they went into the dairy business, which proved lucrative for them. Able to remain financially intact, they continued to independently act as they wished without worry about consequences.

That is why they have “poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Gaza and backed Hamas diplomatically, sheltering its exiled leader, Khaled Mashaal.” Mashaal, however, is just one of many Hamas leaders living in Qatar, who, together, are said to be worth a “staggering $11 billion while living opulent lifestyles.”

Given the fact that the U.S. has recognized Hamas as a terror organization, it is a strange irony that there would be a large American military base housed in Qatar. But this is nothing new to the Gulf country which has a reputation for playing all sides. On the one hand, they’ve been friendly towards Israel, even to the point of establishing trade relations with them as far back as 1996, and it is due to its ties with both the U.S. and Israel that they have been able to play the role of an intermediary, trying to negotiate the hostages who were taken captive on October 7. 

But can they play both ends – hosting the same terror leaders who have kidnapped innocent Israelis while, at the same time, trying to fulfill America’s ceasefire demands which Israel will only accept with a return of all the hostages? 

There are grave doubts that a country that is financing terrorism, housing the perpetrators and sucking up to bad actors such as China and Turkey, can be an honest and effective broker when it comes to the many interests it is trying to juggle at the same time. For all their efforts, they have only been able to negotiate the return of less than half of those being held in captivity.  

Since November, no talks have been fruitful, causing some to think that they are part of a “strategy to string this whole thing along.” After all, everyone associated with the media outlet, Al Jazeera, accused of “providing military support to Hamas in the form of relaying information gleaned by correspondents on the ground, are on the Qatari payroll.”

In essence, Qatar is doing what it does best – hedging its bets while playing one side off of the other, in the hope of coming out as the unscathed hero in all of it. So, why would Israel think that cooperating with Qatar is in their best interest when it harbors the very people who hope to see the destruction of the Jewish homeland?

Perhaps senior adviser of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Richard Goldberg, said it best when he stated, “The Qataris burned Israel the same way they burned the United States time and time again. They’re masters of the double game – presenting themselves as moderates who want to play a Switzerland-type role in the Middle East when, in truth, they are ideological and financial supporters of Islamic extremism.”

Equally puzzling, is how the U.S. could put any trust in Qatar, knowing that so many of their associates and extreme Muslim allies wish the same demise for America as it does for Israel.  If they had even the tiniest sense of where all of this is leading, they would fold up their tents and bid them farewell, because they are far from neutral in this war on terror. They are facilitators of the most evil and corrupt people on the face of the planet, and no one who cares about the good of humanity should be found anywhere near them.

What’s clear is that Qatar is only interested in what will serve their interests in the end, and, as far as they’re concerned, if it means burning everyone else in the process, so be it. The sooner everyone wises up and abandons the folly of doing any kind of business with them, knowing that to do so is to literally make a bargain with the devil, the better off they will be, because Qatar is the proverbial fox guarding the hen house.