Qatar sabotages efforts to reconcile Palestinians: leaked document

CAIRO – 22 September 2017: Qatar has been trying to sabotage Egyptian efforts to reconcile the Palestinian parties by claiming that Hamas does not trust the Egyptian government and their capability of mediation efforts, according to documents published by WikiLeaks, Emirati Al-Ain Newspaper reported.

According to the WikiLeaks document, U.S. officials confirmed that Qatar contributed to the division between the Hamas and Fatah parties by defending the rule of Hamas, through the cessation of financial aid to the Palestinian Authority starting from the date of control of Fatah movement in Gaza in mid-2007, and its demand to engage in peace negotiations with Israel. Qatar also raised its aid to Hamas to $115 million.

The document revealed that senior Palestinian officials, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas and Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat, complained in meetings with U.S. politicians that Qatar actively supports Hamas to strengthen its control of Gaza.

On June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain have turned on Qatar, shutting down of all ports of entry over accusations of the country’s support and sponsorship of terrorism – allegations that Doha denies.

Since then, Qatar has resisted reconciliation attempts and has not shown any efforts in disassociating itself from terrorist groups that were proven to be harbored and financially supported by Doha.