The Qatari regime is paying a agency run by Jay Footlik, a former Clinton administration aide, to advise the households of Israeli hostages, in keeping with a report Wednesday by Politico. The price is $40,000 per thirty days, and shoppers are advised to not criticize Qatar.
The surprising report emerged as the varied events within the Gaza battle try to barter a deal to launch among the 136 hostages — lifeless and alive — who nonetheless stay within the custody of Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that launched the battle.
Qatar has funded Hamas prior to now, and supplies shelter for its billionaire leaders, who take pleasure in luxurious exile within the Qatari capital of Doha. It additionally runs Al Jazeera, a information outlet that has carried anti-Israel battle propaganda into tons of of hundreds of thousands of houses.
Politico reported that Footlik’s agency is simply one of many Qatar-funded teams concerned in advising hostages. One other is the Richardson Heart for World Engagement, which has obtained over $1 million in funding from Qatar.
Politico reported:
A number of the households making an attempt to free their family members held hostage by Hamas in Gaza are getting recommendation from people and entities which have obtained funding from Qatar … an uncommon association given Qatar’s function as one of many chief mediators between Hamas and Israel and that the nation is residence to Hamas’ political management.
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Footlik’s consulting agency ThirdCircle Inc. has been registered below FARA since 2019 to assist organize journeys to Qatar for American elected officers on behalf of the Qatari Embassy, which pays the agency $40,000 per thirty days, in keeping with filings with the Justice Division.
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The hostage negotiating group Richardson Heart for World Engagement, which the late New Mexico Gov. Invoice Richardson based, has additionally obtained vital quantities of cash from Qatar. Mickey Bergman, the vice chairman of the middle, has additionally been a frequent adviser to most of the households and has reportedly suggested them to not criticize Qatar.
The funding from Qatar creates a weird battle of curiosity which means Israel faces stress from Hamas and its backers on each side of the desk — not simply the terrorists’ facet, however from the hostage households’ facet, which Israel is making an attempt to symbolize within the talks.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Giant at Breitbart Information and the host of Breitbart Information Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He’s the creator of the 2021 e-book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and be part of it),” now up to date with a brand new foreword. He’s additionally the creator of the current e-book, Neither Free nor Truthful: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He’s a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Observe him on Twitter at @joelpollak.