Gilad Erdan, the former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, called on U.S. President Donald Trump to pressure Qatar to take in all the residents of the Gaza Strip, instead of Jordan and Egypt.
“Qatar is the source of all evil in the Middle East, along with Iran,” he told Israel’s Channel 14 TV network on Monday.
Erdan, now global president of American Friends of Magen David Adom, sent a letter to Trump, pointing out that Qatar is a small and wealthy country with only 300,000 residents, and it “should host not just Hamas leaders but all Hamas supporters. It has plenty of room and a silver sea,” he said.
The Gulf state, he added, “can replace all the Indian workers and other foreign workers who are there” with the Palestinians from Gaza.
Everything should be done to delegitimize Qatar and “expose its true face,” he said, noting that the West’s cooperation with Doha in the past was a mistake.
“Qatar is not only a sponsor of terrorism, it is also funding the boycott and delegitimization of Israel at universities in the U.S. that damages our image,” he said.
Trump is aware of Qatar’s terror ties, noting in a speech at the White House in June 2017 that “the time had come to call on Qatar to end its [terror] funding, they have to end that funding and its extremist ideology.”
Recently, however, Trump has praised Qatar, even though it continues to be one of the primary state backers of Muslim Brotherhood groups, such as Hamas.
On Feb. 5, Trump said of the situation in Gaza that “Qatar is absolutely trying to help. I know them well, and they’re doing everything they can. Very tough situation, but they’re absolutely trying to help.”
Several high-ranking Trump appointees have worked as lobbyists or had business dealings with Qatar’s elite, including U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff; U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi; nominee for FBI director Kash Patel; and the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.).
Qatar hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the biggest U.S. military installation in the Middle East. It has invested more than $8 billion in its construction. In January 2024, the United States extended its military presence at the base for another 10 years.
