How Qatar Became the Mideast Sponsor of Hamas
- Uri Pilichowski
- Mar 30
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 31
A Muslim country founded in 1971, Qatar is a monarchy ruled by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who ascended to the throne in 2013 after his father abdicated his position. Qatar drew attention from around the world when it became an economic success through the discovery of natural gas fields.
Why it matters
Qatar has a critical relationship with the United States
Qatar finances terrorism around the world
Qatar is also the deal broker in the Middle East
Qatari-US relations
In January 2022, US President Joe Biden designated Qatar as a “Major non-NATO ally,” recognizing the bilateral security cooperation between the United States and Qatar. This status enables US military access to Qatari military facilities, allows prepositioning of US armor and other military materiel, and supports US training of Qatar’s military forces.
In his first term in the White House, President Donald Trump initially sided with Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations when they cut ties with Qatar over its alleged support for jihadists.
However, Trump also praised Qatari leadership for becoming a "big advocate" of combating terrorist financing. Hamas's financier
Qatar has pumped an estimated $1.8 billion into Hamas-run Gaza since its takeover of the Gaza Strip. Qatar pledged $360 million of annual support to Gaza in January 2021, in part to subsidize government salaries. About a third of Qatari support is in the form of fuel that Hamas authorities sell for cash. Hamas harbors its top political leaders in the Qatari capitol, Doha.
For many years, the Qatari government had been sending millions of dollars a month into the Gaza Strip under the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Prime Minister Netanyahu gambled that a strong Hamas would keep the peace and reduce pressure for a Palestinian state. According to accounts denied by Netanyahu’s office, former Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman, the IDF told Netanyahu in 2019-2020 that terror chief Muhammad Deif was seizing millions from monthly payments.
Qatar finances terrorism around the world
Qatar maintains a relationship with terrorists, demonstrated by a permissive legal jurisdiction that allows terror financiers to operate in the state and the close connections Qatar has historically held with such illicit channeling of funds. Aside from financing Hamas, Qatar’s alleged support of regional terrorist networks, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, has long been problematic. In 2003, Congress was alerted to several charities in Qatar supporting al-Qaeda. Since then, Qatar has been accused of not only providing refuge to terrorism financiers but also of directly funding terrorist groups.
Read more: How Much of Qatar's Money Affects Academia?
The Middle East’s deal broker
Qatar played a key role in establishing dialogue between Israel and Hamas in November 2023, resulting in a ceasefire and the release of Israeli civilian hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners held for committing terrorism and other crimes. In an interview with a German newspaper, Qatari Prime Minister al-Thani said, “We have built relations with Hamas in order to maintain peace and stability in the region.” Further, he did not rule out a future peace deal with Israel.
The Biden administration took advantage of Qatar’s close relationship with Hamas to use them as a mediator between the United States, Israel, Egypt, and Hamas. This led to the November 2023 hostage release deal. President Biden thanked the leaders of Qatar and Egypt for their work in helping to reach the agreement.
In the interim period of the Biden administration’s final months in office and the Trump administration’s preparations to take office, both teams worked together along with Qatar to secure a hostage deal and ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Wrap up
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, praised Qatar after a second ceasefire agreement was negotiated by Qatar on behalf of Hamas. Witkoff said, “Qatar wants regional stability and a peace treaty with America. Doha is already a major non-NATO ally of the US, and it has moderated its positions. Witkoff said that the head of US Central Command has described Qataris as ‘special.’”
Uri Pilichowski is an author, speaker, and senior educator at institutions around the world.