As events continue to unfold, Qatar and Iran will play a key role in determining what “the day after” looks like in the Gaza Strip. It is unlikely to be as they imagined or hoped. Broadly speaking, there appear to be two general views: one would be a Palestinian state and the other would see the resettlement of Gaza residents elsewhere.
Those pushing for a Palestinian state can be broken into two subsets. One includes Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, anti-Zionists and their fellow Jew-haters around the world, all of whom openly clamor for the destruction of Israel. They seek only one state—a Palestinian one.
The second subgroup of Palestinian “advocates” are those who claim to want two states: a Jewish State of Israel and a Palestinian state “living side by side in peace and harmony.” Unfortunately, if the past 80 years have taught us anything, it is that the two-state “solution” is and always has been a pipe dream.
There is not now, nor has there ever been, any Palestinian leader or legitimately recognized Palestinian group willing to accept the existence of a Jewish state living within secure, internationally recognized borders. While Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and signatories to the 2020 Abraham Accords are willing to end the “struggle” against Israel, the Palestinians are not.
Recognizing that the two-state solution ship has sailed, U.S. President Donald Trump has made the “American” proposal: resettle the Gazans; offer them and future generations a chance at a life of peace and prosperity; and turn the Strip into some sort of American territory.
Given that there is no going back to the failed policies of the past and that many in the Arab world are unwilling to accept the Trump plan, perhaps there is a “third way.”
Let’s call it the “Qatar Solution.”
There is every reason to believe that if given the chance, many, if not most, Gazans would choose to leave and seek a better life somewhere else. There is no honest or rational basis to argue otherwise. One need only look at the number of immigrants from the Arab world to Europe to know this is true.
The difference in this experience from that of their fellow Arabs is that while their Arab brethren have been allowed to emigrate to Europe, America, Canada and other lands of opportunity, Palestinians are held hostage by Hamas and its enablers. As Hamas senior leader Yahya Sinwar made clear before he died in southern Gaza at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces, the deaths of civilians are “necessary sacrifices” in the struggle to destroy the Zionist entity.
No two countries have been more instrumental in contributing to these peoples’ recent misery than Qatar and Iran. It is no coincidence that they are also the two countries most responsible for funding, arming and providing political cover for Hamas.
Qatar plays a double game with the United States and Iran. While an open ally of Iran, it cooperates with the United States just enough to claim it is also America’s ally. For example, the United States has a strategic air force base in Qatar. In addition, Qatar showed its “friendship” by agreeing to take in Afghan refugees following then-U.S. President Joe Biden’s catastrophic surrender in Afghanistan.
But Qatar, like Turkey, always leads ceasefire negotiations on behalf of Hamas after each conflict with Israel. Qatar continually underwrites the rebuilding and rehabilitation of the terrorist organization, further strengthening the terrorist group’s death grip over Gaza.
These are not acts of altruism. Qatar does so because they perceive it is in their national interest to do so. It speaks to how much Qatar and its leader, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, support the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood. Founded in Egypt in the 1920s, the Muslim Brotherhood is a national Socialist (aka Nazi) movement. Among the Brotherhood’s direct disciples are Al-Qaeda, ISIS (Islamic State) and Hamas.
In addition, Qatar is a primary funder of and provides a haven to terrorists and thugs. Before he was blown up in Tehran by Israeli operatives, Hamas senior leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with much of the Hamas leadership, lived in the lap of luxury at five-star hotels in Qatar.
While the Muslim Brotherhood is embraced in Qatar, it is outlawed in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and most of the rest of the Arab world because it is perceived to pose an existential threat to their survival. Qatar often sides with Iran against the Gulf Arab states. The Qatar-supported Al Jazeera frequently seeks to undermine Qatar’s Arab Gulf neighbors. This in large part explains the chilly relations, if not outright open hostility, between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States.
Moreover, Qatar is—like Switzerland was for the Nazis during World War II—Iran’s banker and ally. Qatar launders money for the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, and Tehran uses that laundered money to fund its terror proxies.
Qatar’s official news outlet, Al Jazeera, is a source of unrelenting anti-Israel/pro-Hamas propaganda. It has “donated” hundreds of millions of dollars to American colleges and universities to buy influence over curricula and hiring practices in a disconcertingly successful effort, so far, to help turn these institutions into incubators of anti-Israel and antisemitic thought.
Qatar cannot be an ally of both America and Iran. It is time to choose.
Unless Qatar demonstrates in word and deed that it has unequivocally chosen the United States over Iran, America must make clear that it will reassess its relationship with Qatar.
To demonstrate unequivocally whose side it is on, Qatar must take the following two steps. First, it must end its cooperation with the Iranian regime and publicly declare itself aligned with the United States and our Gulf Arab allies. And then do it. No more money laundering. No more funding of Iran’s terrorist proxies. No more undermining of America’s colleges and universities.
Second, Qatar must agree to take in thousands of Gazans refugees.
Qatar is one of the wealthiest nations on earth. It has the space and the job opportunities to make the resettlement of Gazans in Qatar a mutually beneficial endeavor.
Qatar has about 3 million residents, only about 15% of whom are Qatari citizens. The remaining 85% are foreign workers, predominantly from India, the Philippines and Egypt. They have no rights and are exploited as slave laborers.
These workers were used to build eight soccer stadiums for the World Cup in 2022. Qatar could have offered those jobs to Palestinians at a living wage. Just as a general proposition, Palestinians can be employed and paid a living wage to build important infrastructure or pursue other careers in Qatar. As part of the World Cup slave-labor project, tens of thousands of housing units were built for soccer fans who came from all over the world to watch the competition. These units can now be used to house the influx of Gazan refugees.
The time has come for Qatar to allow for the migration of Gazans to Doha and to treat the Palestinians with dignity and respect, rather than condemning them to more decades of misery. As immigration to Qatar increases, it can then turn its attention to persuading the region’s other 28 Arab states to take in Palestinian refugees for resettlement as well. The United States can use its vast influence to help make that possible, providing a better life for the Palestinians.