Qatar’s Hamas links under fire amid Gaza conflict

Qatar’s strong links to the terror group Hamas have been savaged by a key Jewish lobby group amid appeals for it to help prevent a regional widening of the Gaza conflict.

Middle East leaders meet ahead of regional meetings in Saudi Arabia, including Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Qatar’s strategic regional role aiding the terror group Hamas has been savaged by a key Jewish lobby group amid global unease about the Middle East country’s seemingly contradictory position on the Gaza crisis.

Australia-Israel and Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubinstein has blasted the role of Qatar, citing its heavy ties with Hamas including hosting Hamas leaders.

It comes as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been under pressure to act against Qatar due to claims of significant aid from Qatar to Hamas.

Mr Rubinstein said western nations like Australia should be fully aware of the links between Qatar and Hamas.

“Qatar is an open backer of Hamas, hosting its political leadership, and offering the terror group money as well as political and diplomatic support,’’ he said.

“Doha refused to condemn the murderous Hamas attacks on Israel, while its state-founded propaganda network, Al-Jazeera, effectively acts as a mouthpiece for Hamas – which actually gave the network an award for promoting Hamas’ narrative.

“Western nations like Australia should be well aware of these facts and seek to make sure Qatar is pressured and pays a political price for its open support for terrorism.”

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (R) welcoming Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani (L) upon his arrival in the city of al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The United States and Australia are hopeful that Qatar, which owns Qatar Airways, can help play a strategic role in helping free hostages kidnapped and held captive in Gaza.

The Australian government urged Qatar to help prevent the Gaza-Israel crisis spreading wider into the region.

“Australia condemns Hamas, which we designate as a terrorist organisation. We urge Qatar to use its influence to help secure the release of hostages and to prevent regional spill over of conflict,’’ a government spokeswoman told The Australian.

“We welcome engagement between the United States and Qatar in pursuit of these urgent priorities.”

The Qatar administration and Qatar Airways were approached for comment. The airline referred questions to the government. Qatar is a consitutional emirate next to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The airline, which has been seeking to expand its footprint in Australia, has been part of the rescue mission for some Australians caught in the Hamas war against Israel.

Hamas has a political office in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and British media have accused Hamas of running key aspects of its operations there.

Qatar last week blamed Israel for the military escalation between Hamas and Israel, which was propvoked by Hamas atrocities in Israel.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry said Israel was responsible for the war because of what it said was its violations of the rights of Palestinian people.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds Israel alone responsible for the current escalation due to its ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people, the latest of which is the repeated raids on the blesses Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli police,’’ it said on October 7.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken met last week with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, where Mr Blinken reinforced his country's opposition to Hamas.

“I’ve also been making it clear in all of my conversations throughout this trip that there can be no more business as usual with Hamas,” secretary Blinken said.

“Murdering babies, burning families to death, taking little children as hostages. These are unconscionable acts of brutality.”

Secretary Blinken was reportedly shown graphic images of dead civilians during his visit to Israel.