The Outsized Reach of Qatar

The state of Qatar is a small country, with a population of three million people. It is the world’s largest per capita producer of oil and natural gas and has one of the highest income economies in the world. Qatar’s reach and influence in the Middle East and beyond exceeds many larger countries because of its wealth.

Qatar uses its vast wealth deliberately and with purpose. It is a sponsor of Islamic terror organizations, including Hamas, and is home to many of Hamas’ senior officials. Qatar is also the owner of Al Jazeera, the region’s most-watched news network, which helps shape public opinion and perception among its viewers.

Qatar uses its wealth to buy friendships and influence around the world. Over a period of decades, it has invested more than $11 billion in American universities, sponsoring many legitimate academic programs and activities and many with more nuanced and destructive objectives — including the delegitimization of Israel, attacks on Zionism, promotion of antisemitism and fueling of campus unrest.

Qatar’s reach has even extended deep into Israel, including within the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A junior spokesperson for Netanyahu was accused of being paid to provide public relations services to Qatar while working for the prime minister, and two consultants who have worked with Netanyahu over the past decade allegedly worked for Qatar at the same time.

The “Qatargate” scandal in Israel centers around Eli Feldstein, who became Netanyahu’s spokesman for military affairs shortly after Oct. 7. Feldstein first worked as an outside contractor. When efforts were made to upgrade him to a full-time position, he couldn’t get Shin Bet clearance. So, he continued as a contractor and reported to another contractor who served as Netanyahu’s chief personal spokesman.

Feldstein was arrested in November 2024 and charged with leaking classified documents given to him by an IDF intelligence officer. More recently, it was reported that while Feldstein worked for Netanyahu, he was being paid by Qatar to improve the Gulf state’s image in Israel as the country served as the primary intermediary in negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Qatar also has a long history of “investing” in U.S. influence. Former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez was convicted of accepting gifts and bribes from Qatar and Egypt; Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, has done extensive business with Qatar; and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin have all been lobbyists or consultants for Qatar.

So, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise when the State Department announced last week that the U.S. had signed off on a potential sale of eight unmanned drones to Qatar, with a price tag of nearly $2 billion. But it was surprising. That’s because the idea of selling military drones to a chief backer of instability across the Middle East and a principal supporter of Hamas and Islamic terror makes absolutely no sense.

We are told that Qatar is “indispensable” in helping to mediate between Israel and Hamas. Maybe so. But even if that is true, we can’t ignore the fact that Qatar speaks out of two sides of its keffiyeh when it poses as the promoter of peace while at the same time fueling the very terror activity that needs to be crushed.

We don’t trust Qatar and we don’t believe that the U.S. should be selling Qatar sophisticated military weapons.