Whereas their individuals languish in poverty and are handled as human shields, the leaders of Hamas stay billionaire existence.
The phobia group’s three high leaders alone are value a staggering $11 billion between them and luxuriate in a lifetime of luxurious within the sanctuary of the emirate of Qatar.
The emirate has lengthy welcomed the leaders of the phobia group and put in them in its luxurious resorts and villas similtaneously internet hosting an enormous American navy presence.
Now Republican Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles is co-sponsoring a invoice that might strip Qatar of its standing as a key US ally, The Put up has discovered, until it kicks out the Hamas management.
The terrorist group, which is answerable for the antisemitic Oct. 7 bloodbath of greater than 1,400 harmless civilians in southern Israel, continues to carry 200 hostages in Gaza.
Hamas runs an workplace in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Moussa Abu Marzuk and Khaled Mashal stay an expensive way of life.
They’ve been seen at its diplomatic membership, photographed on personal jets and traveled extensively. The management would have been there for the 2022 soccer World Cup.
In distinction, many of the inhabitants of greater than two million within the Gaza Strip, which Hamas has dominated since 2007, stay in abject poverty.
Haniyeh, 61, the pinnacle of Hamas’s politbureau, was prime minister of all of Palestine following elections in 2006 though he was booted from workplace a 12 months later.
He continued to rule the Gaza Strip till 2017 earlier than ending up in Qatar.
Haniyeh, a father of 13 who presides over one of many world’s wealthiest terrorist teams, is value greater than $4 billion.
He has been photographed together with his two grownup sons, Maaz and Abdel Salam, dwelling the excessive life in luxurious resorts in Qatar and Turkey. in response to a latest social media publish from the Embassy of Israel within the US.
Final week, Haniyeh traveled to Iran to fulfill with Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran is a longtime sponsor of Hamas.
Final month the 4 Seasons lodge in Doha mentioned he was not considered one of its visitors after requires Invoice Gates, who owns a controlling stake within the chain, to kick him out. It didn’t tackle if he had beforehand stayed there. Amongst its high-end choices are suites with sea views beginning at $900 an evening.
The Hamas large’s son Maaz Haniyeh is called “the daddy of actual property” in Gaza for his assortment of villas and buildings.
He lives a playboy way of life in Turkey, and this 12 months obtained a Turkish passport, in response to Israel At the moment.
Haniyeh snr. additionally has Turkish citizenship, in response to reviews.
Abu Marzuk, 72, a senior Hamas political chief who heads its “worldwide relations workplace” is estimated by the Israeli authorities to be value $3 billion.
He has a masters diploma in development administration from Colorado State College and was detained in New York when US immigration authorities discovered his identify on a terrorist watch record in 1995.
And Mashal, 67, who issued a worldwide menace towards Jews after Oct. 7 atrocities, is value greater than $4 billion, in response to the Israeli authorities.
The presence of the Hamas leaders in Qatar has lengthy been justified by the emirate as a part of its help for tuning the phobia group into “a accountable governing energy,” in response to a report from the Basis for the Protection of Democracies.
The nation gives Hamas with between $120 million and $480 million per 12 months, in response to the October report by the Washington, DC-based non-profit that research overseas coverage.
“These funds profit Hamas leaders instantly by means of payroll and kickback schemes and not directly by means of social providers and authorities operations that assist Hamas keep political management over Gaza,” the report mentioned.
Qatar can also be house to the Al Jazeera information channel, which the report alleges, “spreads antisemitism, anti-Americanism and incitement to violence all through the Arab world.”
“Qatar is Hamas and Hamas is Qatar,” mentioned Yigal Carmon, president of the Washington DC-based Center East Media Analysis Institute in an interview with The Put up in Israel.
However strikes to drive motion on Hamas at the moment are stepping up in DC.
Rep. Ogles invoice would strip Qatar of its particular standing within the high tier of America’s non-NATO allies alongside Israel and Taiwan and South Korea, Australia and Japan.
Ogles informed The Put up Tuesday, “As Hamas terrorists proceed to wreak havoc on the lives of harmless Israeli civilians, america should guarantee there isn’t any ally supporting them. Sadly, the State of Qatar remains to be funding and supporting Hamas as its management enjoys political refuge in Doha.”
The nation has had the particular standing since final 12 months however Ogles’ transfer would drive it to be conditional on eradicating Hamas.
Together with internet hosting Hamas, Qatar can also be some of the necessary navy bases for the US within the Center East.
It’s house to US Central Command’s ahead base within the Center East on the large Al Udeid air base, which itself is significant to Air Pressure operations within the Gulf.
Qatar isn’t the one supply of Hamas’ money. The group additionally took in almost $400 million within the final two years from the UN, which doesn’t acknowledge Hamas as a terrorist group.
The United Nations Reduction and Works Company offered Hamas with $380 million since 2021, in response to the FDD. A lot of that money got here from the Biden Administration, which has offered $1 billion to the UNRWA since 2021.
“Since UNRWA has lengthy insisted it has no political display on its support, and since Hamas is seen as a political social gathering, we all know with close to certainty that our taxpayer {dollars} have been delivered into the palms of Hamas,” the FDD mentioned, including that the Trump administration ended US contributions to UNRWA due to the Hamas connection.