Qatar Seeks to Pull Hamas Away from Iran

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Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former terrorism finance analyst at the US Department of the Treasury, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that a statement by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday about Qatar supporting Hamas was striking and matter-of-fact.

“This is how Hamas was able to afford the purchase of these advanced tunnel facilities,” said Schanzer.

“Currently Qatar and Turkey represent the pro-Hamas negotiation bloc as the Arab and world powers haggle over the fate of Hamas,” he continued. “Qatar would like to negotiate a happy ending for Hamas, which would include open borders and greater strength for the movement over time.”

Powers that traditionally oppose the Muslim Brotherhood, such as Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain, are less eager to see a Hamas with a free hand, he said.

“One reason we have seen such little progress on the cease-fire front is that there is a real tug-of-war happening in the Middle East over Hamas,” he asserted. “Qatar is at the center of that.”

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