US media is reporting that two US Congressmen are recruiting fellow members of Congress to sign a letter asking the Qatari Ambassador to the US to address ‘serious allegations’ regarding the country’s relationship with Hamas. According to an Algemeiner.com report:
July 12, 2013 U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and John Barrow (D-GA) are recruiting their fellow members of Congress to sign a letter asking Qatar’s ambassador to the U.S., Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Rumaihi, to address ‘serious allegations’ regarding the oil-rich Middle East country’s relationship with Hamas.
Qatar reportedly pledged more than $400 million to the Palestinian terrorist organization in October 2012 during a visit to Gaza by Qatar’s ruling emir at the time, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.
‘As you know, longstanding, strategic bilateral relations between the United States and Qatar, including a strong defense pact, are of critical importance to both countries. However, we believe that Qatar’s relationship with Hamas empowers, legitimizes, and bolsters an organization committed to violence and hatred,’ a draft of the letter to Al-Rumaihi states, according to a copy obtained by JNS.org.
The Emiri Court of Qatar in March 2012 funded a mass wedding for Palestinian terrorists who deported to the country as part of the exchange of Hamas captive Gilad Shalit for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
‘Failure [by Qatar]to condemn such brazen incitement undermines our shared interest of regional stability and prospects for a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty,’ the congressional letter says.”
In October 2012, the Emir of Qatar visited Gaza in what was described as the “biggest diplomatic victory” for Hamas since taking power. Earlier that week, Qatar had announced one of the biggest contribution of reconstruction aid for Hamas-ruled Gaza since the destruction accompanying the Israeli-Gaza conflict in 2008-2009. The Al-Monitor news portal has published an article analyzing the relationship between Hamas and Qatar. The article begins:
The close relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar is no hidden secret. It needs, however — in some cases, but not all — some scrutiny. It also needs some links between the divergent points so that the picture is clearer.
Hamas’ relationship with Doha is part of the Muslim Brotherhood-Qatar relationship. But is the alliance — or cooperation — strategic and permanent, or is it temporary? And are there signs or indicators of a disagreement? For example, Hamas objected to the recent positions taken by Qatar, which headed the Arab League delegation to Washington that approved a limited exchange of land between Israelis and Palestinians.
Qatar’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood is complex, and it includes personal relationships. In fact, Qatar supports specific Islamist activists, such as the World Union of Muslim Scholars President Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who is of Egyptian origin and holds Qatari nationality. Qaradawi prides himself on his role in the Egyptian revolution.
In a post on his website titled “Sheikh Qaradawi and the Egyptian revolution,” Qaradawi relays what supporters have written to him: “Your positions when it comes to supporting and defending this revolution have been clear, strong, diverse and abundant since day one, and they cannot go unnoticed.”
Other young “revolutionaries” have reportedly told him: “We want to tell you about a fact that we’ve concluded ourselves, namely, that the number that exceeded 4 million in Tahrir Square on the “Friday of Victory” includes a large number who came for you, to listen to you, from Alexandria, al-Gharbia and other governorates of Lower and Upper Egypt.”
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Both Hamas and Qatar are thought to have suffered serious blows when Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood were deposed in Egypt. Qatar had widely thought to have been a major supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and elsewhere in the region.