The Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas and other Palestinians on October 7, 2023 could have been released a long time ago had the Biden administration exerted pressure on Qatar to use its good relations with the Islamist group to force it to do so.
All Qatar had to do was to summon the Hamas leaders in Doha and give them an ultimatum to release all the hostages immediately or face deportation from the Gulf state. It is hard to see how the Hamas leaders would have been able to say no to their major political and financial patrons and backers.... The Qataris were never under the slightest pressure.
"For years, Qatar supported the Taliban, and last year [2021] it helped it in its coup against the democratically elected Afghan government, and 13 American service members were killed in the violence. Today, Qatar is doing everything it can to give the Taliban international legitimacy and aid." — Yigal Carmon, President and founder of the MEMRI, who served as counterterrorism advisor to two Israeli prime ministers, Haaretz, May 10, 2022.
"Any Arab who hears American officials say that Qatar is America's ally would burst into laughter.... Ask Egypt, not just the rulers, but the people and journalists. Ask the Emirates, the government and people. Ask Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan. They all know that for decades Qatar has been promoting Islamist and terrorist organizations. There are lawsuits against Qatar in the U.S. and Europe in connection with its support for terrorism." — Yigal Carmon, MEMRI, November 1, 2023
The Trump administration needs to understand what Arabs have known for years: that Qatar's support for Hamas and other extremist Islamist groups is the main reason thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have died over the past few years.
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