Qatar, its Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said last week, was “appalled” at words of criticism Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leveled against it.
That’s right, appalled.
Qatar, a state that has provided diplomatic, media, and financial support to Hamas – a barbaric terrorist organization that murders and mutilates the bodies of men, rapes, and kidnaps women, and burns to death entire families – is appalled.
If none of the above appalled them to the extent that they would sever all links with the terrorist organization and kick its leaders out of the country where it hosts them in five-star hotels, then this is a state not easily appalled, and what Netanyahu did or said must have been monstrous indeed.
Netanyahu's reaction
And what did Netanyahu say?
At a meeting with the families of hostages held by Hamas, the prime minister – in a recording of the conversation leaked to Channel 12 – said that he got “very angry recently with the Americans” for renewing a deal to extend a US military base in Qatar for an additional 10 years without using that as leverage on Doha to place more pressure on Hamas to release the hostages.
In early January the US reportedly renewed the agreement to keep its largest military base in the Middle East, the Al Udeid Air Base, in Qatar.
Netanyahu said Qatar has leverage over Hamas because it finances them.
“You don’t hear me thanking Qatar. Have you noticed?” Netanyahu told the families of hostages. “Why? Because for me it [Qatar] is essentially no different from the UN or Red Cross, and in a certain sense is even more problematic– I have no illusions about them.”
“But,” he added “I’m ready to use any actor right now that helps me bring [the hostages] home.”
What surely appalled the Qataris is less Netanyahu’s “ingratitude,” and more his interference in US-Qatari ties.
“Instead of concerning himself with Qatar’s strategic relations with the United States, we hope Netanyahu decides to operate in good faith and concentrate on the release of the hostages,” wrote Al Ansari on X.
And therein lies the rub.
Qatar, a tiny but fabulously wealthy state, is extremely sensitive about its standing in the West. So sensitive that it spends billions of dollars each year to promote the image of Qatar – not exactly a human rights beacon – as a forward-looking, modern, western nation.
It does this through channeling billions of dollars into universities, think tanks, stock markets, and sports clubs in the West.
And then along comes Netanyahu who has the audacity to admit that he lobbied the US against extending its agreement regarding an army base in Qatar unless the country uses its leverage to press Hamas far more than it is doing now. What nerve.
Netanyahu then doubled down on his criticism in public Saturday night, saying he would “not retract a single word” from the leaked recording. The prime minister came under domestic criticism by those saying that although his critique of Qatar was on the mark, he probably should not have said it while Doha is involved in the sensitive hostage negotiations.
Attempts at a second deal to release the hostages
On Sunday CIA Chief William Burns, Mossad Chief David Barnea, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani, and head of the Egyptian Intelligence Services Abbas Kamel held talks in Paris about a possible second deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Yossi Cohen, Netanyahu’s former Mossad chief and before that his head of the National Security Council, has on numerous times counseled against publicly criticizing Qatar, saying that it would be counterproductive to criticize the only country in the world that can speak to Hamas.
Except that Qatar is not involved in the negotiations over the hostages because it is interested in doing Israel any favors.
Qatar understands that the October 7 massacres, and its long and strong support for Hamas over the years is not something that is enhancing its image.
Doha’s interest in a hostage release does not stem from humanitarian concern – if it had humanitarian concerns it would not have become the patron of Hamas in the first place. Instead, Qatar is worried about Qatar’s image, as Al Ansari’s over-sensitive response to Netanyahu’s leaked conversation shows, and a hostage deal right now would help refurbish it.
It is precisely because Qatar is concerned about its image – increasingly voices are being raised in the West calling for a reassessment of ties with Doha – that actions to tarnish that image should be stepped up.
The germ of a campaign to do just that took place last week in Washington, when some 200 people gathered in front of the Qatari embassy and urged the country to apply more pressure on Hamas to release the hostages.
The tone of the remarks at what the organizers – the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington – were careful to call a “gathering,” not a demonstration, was cautious. Speakers interspersed calls to Qatar to place more leverage on Hamas with appreciation for the role the country played in bringing about the first hostage release deal that saw some 100 hostages freed.
It is time, however, to take a less polite approach.
For years the Qataris perfected the art of appearing civilized, modern, and forward-looking while backing the most vile, vicious, antisemitic terrorist organization on the planet. It is time to consider an organized, diplomatic campaign to expose the charade.
Qatar should no longer be allowed to be both the arsonist and the fireman; the party responsible for setting the fire and then the firefighter deserving credit for putting it out.
Netanyahu was right to get “very angry” with the Americans over renewing the army base deal in Qatar. That type of carrot should not go to a country that harbors, diplomatically defends, funds and – through Al Jazeera – gives a megaphone to a terrorist organization like Hamas.
Qatar’s role in doing just that should be brought to the public’s attention again and again.