Reflecting intense anger and frustration at Qatar for its diplomatic and financial support of Hamas, a senior diplomatic source on Wednesday characterized the Persian Gulf state as a “bitter enemy of Israel.”
“Qatar is an opportunistic regime,” which is one of the “most problematic regimes” in the region, the source said. Without elaborating, the source said Israel should be using some of the leverage it has with Qatar to induce it to change its behavior.
The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, visited Gaza last month, the first foreign leader to do so since Hamas took power there in 2007. That move angered Jerusalem because it gave Hamas strongly desired legitimacy.
This visit was followed by a pledge from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to follow suit and visit Gaza as well. Erdogan, according to another Israeli source, did not go ahead with the move because of US President Barack Obama’s request that he not do so.
The characterization of Qatar as a “bitter enemy” comes some four years after Doha suspended its trade ties with Israel following Operation Cast Lead.
In 2010, Qatar signaled an interest in renewing ties with Israel if Jerusalem would allow it to play a major role in the rebuilding of Gaza. Qatar also wanted an Israeli statement recognizing its role in the region, something Jerusalem was hesitant to do, both because of concern about Qatar’s growing ties with Iran, and not wanting to get in the middle of Qatar’s rivalries with Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Qatar and Israel established trade relations in 1996, and since then there have been various high-level meetings between Israeli and Qatari officials in secret at international conferences.
Not all the meetings have been in secret, however, and then foreign minister Tzipi Livni went to Doha in 2008 for a conference, where she met the emir and senior government officials.
I think the Emir made a big mistake. Further, he is illiterate in the history of the Middle East. Many Muslims follow his lead. Ignorant people who do not have facts to back up their claims run amok in the M.E. Muslims are invaders of the Holy Land, and they are so violent toward Jews and Christians as to make it impossible to live peacefully with them.
The Emir’s investments in the West are only as good as the people who work for him. If he angers these employees, he might find himself head down in a sand dune. Mr. Emir, let’s see your proof that Arabs are entitled to the Holy Land of the Jews and Christians.
“…if the Palestinian Arabs are to have their state then as time goes on it is clear that it will be under the extremist Islamist terrorists of Hamas.”
Well, daahhh.
“Qatar is a bitter enemy of Israel.” Which Arab state isn’t? As for trade and commerce, Egypt also had a peace treaty with Israel, but all the same still has one of the most anti-Jewish media in the world. With Arab Muslims it seems that hatred of Israel and the Jews goes hand in hand with trade and commerce with the Jews. As Dean Martin used to say, “Keep those cards and letters coming.”
Bernard…Are you suggesting that Qatar is NOT an enemy of Israel, or what are you saying here?
I think this story is a plant to give qatar anti israel credentials on the araab street. qatar was one of the few to have trade links and wanted to resume them in 2010. It recently asked Israel if it would allow them to invest and rebuild gaza. The sunnis wooed away meshaal from Syria/Iran.
I guess that senior diplomatic source didn’t read debka report
@ Felix Quigley:
And it’s a good question Felix.
And if you and others know the names of the players in the game, you can bet that other “interested parties” have them on their Rolodex (or the electronic equivalent) files.
TAL RADIO EUROPE, QATAR, STEVEN GILMOUR AND HOW MONEY TALKS
The story interests me. A member of the Royal Family of Qatar owns the southern Spanish team of Malaga. Also the major Catalan football team of Barcelona is largely in the hands of Qatar, Messi and the others having Qatar Foundation on their shirts. Steven Gilmour of Talk Radio Europe has got the exclusive rights to broadcast in English Malaga matches. The involvement of Qatar by Gilmour is played down. Meanwhile yesterday on his talk show Gilmour stated that the Arab Palestinian issue and Israel bores him…in other words do not discuss it in any depth…just when there is an outburst if that. How is Arab money tying up the American and European middle classes and business interests seems to be the question.
“The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, visited Gaza last month, the first foreign leader to do so since Hamas took power there in 2007. That move angered Jerusalem because it gave Hamas strongly desired legitimacy.
(Read more…)
It seems a long way from football clubs in Spain to the emir Al Thani being the first foreign leader to visit Gaza and thus bringing Hamas under their wing. Could the Obama team be working in the background here (?) because if the Palestinian Arabs are to have their state then as time goes on it is clear that it will be under the extremist Islamist terrorists of Hamas.
We can only speculate what is in the mind of Gilmour and his TRE when he says that it “bores” him that he wants at any costs some sort of solution so that he does not have to think about it. It is doubtful if he knows anything of the history so no wonder he is bored by it and just seeks an executive solution. That solution for many of these kinds of people is adopting the terrorist Hamas. Is that where Gilmour and his TRE are heading. By the way TRE is owned by a Jewish man called Martin Nathan who according to an email I received from him some years ago is no friend of Israel.