by Khaled Abu Toameh
These -- regimes have always been on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and several Islamist terror groups, including Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.
Inviting Qatar and Turkey to play a role in the Gaza Strip means again bringing Iran in through the back door. Both countries have strong relations and shared interests with Iran.
In the time-honored tradition of Arab politeness, these countries may well be telling Trump what he would like to hear -- secure in the knowledge that in three years, he will be off their backs, unable to pressure them anymore. Meanwhile, they will have positioned themselves comfortably in Gaza, learned more about Israeli technology, and be free to do as they like.
"Qatar and certainly Turkey must not have a foothold in Gaza again. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Jordan hate Hamas and are more concerned about the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Qatar is the one that funded Hamas in the years leading up to October 7..." — Unnamed senior Israel Defense Forces officer, YNET, October 12, 2025.
It is laughable -- and dangerous -- to assume that under their current rulers, Qatar and Turkey, as well as Iran, would ever play a positive and constructive role in ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East. These three regimes have always been on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and several Islamist terror groups, including Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.
Qatar and Turkey are not interested in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Instead, they are interested, with the backing of Iran, in rebuilding Hamas's military and civilian capabilities and ensuring that the terror group, perhaps in some rebranded form, remains in power.
If Qatar and Turkey are permitted to play a major role in the governance and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after the Israel-Hamas war, it would mean a return to the pre-October 7, 2023 era, which saw the Iran-backed terror group fully controlling the coastal territory. In addition to Iran, Qatar and Turkey have long been sponsoring and funding Hamas and providing the terror group's leaders with shelter.
Inviting Qatar and Turkey to play a role in the Gaza Strip means again bringing Iran in through the back door. Both countries have strong relations and shared interests with Iran, which, according to reports, worked with Hamas to plan its October 7 invasion of Israel. Iran also reportedly gave the green light for the terror group to launch the assault during a meeting in Lebanon on October 2.
Despite the severe blow it was dealt as a result of the Israeli and American airstrikes, there are no signs whatsoever that the Iranian regime is ready to recognize Israel's right to exist, join the Abraham Accords, and abandon its terror proxies in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
"Amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, Qatar has aligned itself closer to Tehran," the Iran International media outlet reported in December 2024.
"This was evident during Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to Doha in October 2024. The two countries discussed enhancing cooperation in economy, energy, culture, and education, with a particular focus on resolving the $6 billion in Iranian assets frozen in Qatar...
"Though Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Iran present their partnership as a means to promote regional stability, their alliance is rooted in political and strategic interests.
"The cooperation between Tehran and Doha is often framed in idealistic terms but conceals a deeper agenda focused on power, influence, and suppression."
Last year, Turkey signed 10 agreements with Iran for collaboration in energy, free trade, and transportation during a visit to Ankara by former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, according to Iran International.
"While the Islamic Republic [of Iran] emphasizes the economic aspects of the relationship to improve morale at home, the significance of Raisi's visit to Ankara lies in discussions on regional security and stability..."
US President Donald J. Trump, despite excellent intentions, might come to understand that the No. 1 priority for the Iranian and most Arab regimes is to stay in power and protect the interests of their leaders.
In the time-honored tradition of Arab politeness, these countries may well be telling Trump what he would like to hear -- secure in the knowledge that in three years, he will be off their backs, unable to pressure them anymore. Meanwhile, they will have positioned themselves comfortably in Gaza, learned more about Israeli technology, and be free to do as they like.
It is premature to assume that the bombing of Iran's nuclear sites is a game-changer for the region. We have not yet seen the Iranian regime talk about abandoning its plan to acquire nuclear weapons. Moreover, we still have not seen any indication from other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, that they are prepared, unconditionally, to join the Abraham Accords.
Earlier this year, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar accused Turkey of cooperating with Iranian attempts to smuggle weapons to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, saying:
"There is an intensified Iranian effort to smuggle money into Lebanon for Hezbollah to restore its power and status. This effort to being carried out, among other channels, via Turkey and with its cooperation."
Turkey, under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "is one of Hamas's most important strategic allies," according to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.
"Turkey hosts senior Hamas figures, some of whom have received Turkish citizenship, and provides political, diplomatic and propaganda support, as well as economic and humanitarian assistance.
"Hamas has established one of its most important overseas centers in Turkey, primarily operated by prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit exchange deal of 2011. It uses Turkey to plan terrorist attacks and transfer funds to finance terrorist activities inside Israel, in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, and to raise and launder money in support of its terrorist operations, including the October 7, 2023, attack and massacre."
Alarmed by the talk about the growing role of Qatar and Turkey in the Gaza crisis, a senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer cautioned:
"Qatar and certainly Turkey must not have a foothold in Gaza again. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Jordan hate Hamas and are more concerned about the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Qatar is the one that funded Hamas in the years leading up to October 7.... There is no guarantee that this money will be returned to the recovery of the [Hamas] military wing, and not just to reconstruction projects in Gaza.... The [Israeli] political echelon will have to convince Trump that there is a difference between the Arab countries: Qatar and Turkey are both Muslim Brotherhood members who support Hamas. The UAE and Egypt hate Hamas."
Qatar has been a key financial supporter of Hamas, transferring more than $1.8 billion to the group over the past two decades. Former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani was the first state leader to visit the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip in 2012. In 2021, Qatar pledged $360 million of annual support to the Gaza Strip, in part to subsidize salaries of Hamas employees.
Documents seized by the IDF during the war reveal Qatar's intensive collaboration with Hamas spanning years, including attempts to thwart regional peace efforts by the US, marginalize Egyptian influence in Gaza, and bolster the roles of Turkey and Iran. Qatar's payments were significant enough that in December 2009, then Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told Qatar's foreign minister that the Gulf state's cash was "Hamas's main artery."
In May 2021, Haniyeh (then head of the terror organizations "political bureau") told Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7 atrocities, that the emir of Qatar had privately "agreed on discreet financial support" for Hamas. The emir, according to Haniyeh, "agreed in principle to supply [Hamas] discreetly, but he does not want anyone in the world to know. Until now, $11 million has been raised from the emir for the leadership of Hamas."
The documents revealed that Qatari intelligence officials met with a Hamas representative to discuss supervising special training units for Hamas fighters on military bases in Qatar and Turkey, and for the integration of Palestinians who fled Syria (during the civil war there) to Lebanon, into Hamas's terrorist battalions in Lebanon.
According to the documents, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal told the emir of Qatar in 2019: "We must work together to oppose [Trump's] Deal of the Century [peace plan] and eliminate it." The documents showed that Hamas and Qatar planned to marginalize Egypt's role as a mediator between Israel and the terror group, while promoting Turkey's influence in the Middle East.
In 2022, Sinwar wrote to Haniyeh that Turkey should also take a leading role in efforts against Israel:
"It is on you to begin to prepare the campaign. We must begin immediately with our allies – Iran, Qatar, and Turkey. Qatari and Turkish diplomacy must be in a leading role. Our role is to make it hard for the [Israeli] occupation to breathe and ensure the severing of international actors' diplomatic ties with them."
It is laughable -- and dangerous -- to assume that under their current rulers, Qatar and Turkey, as well as Iran, would ever play a positive and constructive role in ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East. These three regimes have always been on the side of the Muslim Brotherhood organization and several Islamist terror groups, including Islamic State (ISIS), Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, Qatar, Turkey and Iran have chosen to side with Hamas and denounce Israel for daring to defend itself against the terror group. Qatar and Turkey are not interested in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Instead, they are interested, with the backing of Iran, in rebuilding Hamas's military and civilian capabilities and ensuring that the terror group, perhaps in some rebranded form, remains in power.
- Follow Khaled Abu Toameh on X (formerly Twitter)
Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/21992/qatar-turkey-rebuild-hamas
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