"Netanyahu, Effectively Supporting Hamas... Qatar Allows Cash Aid to Gaza"

Qatar Funds Allowed to Flow into Hamas
Maintaining Gaza Strip Standoff... Even Escorting Fund Transfers

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of effectively supporting the Palestinian armed group Hamas. It is claimed that the Qatari government turned a blind eye to delivering cash bags to the Gaza Strip every year, thereby tacitly allowing the money to flow to Hamas.

On the 10th (local time), the US daily newspaper The New York Times reported this based on extensive interviews with current and former officials from Israel, the United States, and Qatar. It stated that Prime Minister Netanyahu regarded Hamas as a means to maintain the status quo in the Gaza Strip and either tolerated or even empowered it to an appropriate extent.

Qatar has a close relationship with Hamas, including hosting Hamas's external political office in its capital, Doha. The Qatari government has consistently delivered cash to the Gaza Strip under the pretext of humanitarian aid. It is estimated to have provided more than $1 billion (about 1.3 trillion won) since 2014. This money became the lifeline for the Gaza Strip's government operations and reconstruction.

According to The New York Times, since 2018, the Qatari government has directly delivered cash with the approval of Netanyahu's cabinet. Starting with $15 million in October 2018 for Gaza Strip civil servant salaries and power plant fuel costs, it has provided about $3,000 monthly.

The New York Times analyzed this as Netanyahu's strategy to maintain balance in the Gaza Strip by giving Hamas enough leeway to run the government moderately.

Yossi Kuperwasser, former head of research at the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, said some officials aimed to maintain a "balance" in the Gaza Strip, explaining, "Israel's logic is that Hamas should have enough power to govern Gaza but be weak enough to be subdued by Israel."

Netanyahu also took direct action to maintain this balance. When the US Republican Party pushed for financial sanctions against Qatar in 2017, claiming it supported Hamas, Netanyahu urgently dispatched a senior defense official to Washington DC. According to sources familiar with the situation, Israel emphasized and persuaded US lawmakers about Qatar's positive role.

Since 2018, Israeli intelligence agencies have even provided escort protection when Qatari envoys carrying cash bags traveled from the Jordanian border to the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu's actions have faced criticism. Avigdor Lieberman, a member of the Knesset who served as Israel's Defense Minister for two years starting in 2016, argued in a document written shortly after taking office that "Hamas is sending trained armed militants into Israel to seize villages near the separation barrier and take hostages," calling for a preemptive strike by Israel. He claimed that the funds tolerated by Israel were used for attacks against Israel.

However, Netanyahu ignored these warnings. Qatar's cash support continued. Netanyahu's government maintained its existing stance on Qatari aid even up to just before Hamas's surprise attack on October 7. In September, Mossad Director David Barnea reportedly responded affirmatively when asked in a meeting with Qatari officials whether he hoped Qatar's cash support to the Gaza Strip would continue, The New York Times reported.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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