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House Panel Urged to Probe Turkish, Qatari Support of Hamas
(Times of Israel) Rebecca Shimoni Stoil - Congress was urged on Tuesday to increase oversight into aid channeled to the Gaza's Hamas rulers. During a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing, Turkey and Qatar were among those singled out for their strong support for the Islamist Hamas. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) criticized Turkey for providing "financial, material and political support" for Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, noting that it "has been doing so for years, without repercussions." She also critiqued Qatar as also having "been known to be perhaps Hamas' largest financial patron." The Foundation for the Defense of Democracy's Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer warned: "Qatar appears to have filled much of the void left by Iran." He recommended that the U.S. pressure Qatar to cease funding Hamas, expel the Doha-based Hamas leadership including Khaled Mashaal, and freeze Hamas funds in Qatari banks, adding that if they fail to do so, the U.S. should designate Qatari institutions as channels for terror funding, and could even gesture toward removing the al-Udaid airbase from Qatari territory, as well as putting a hold on pending arms deals. Similar pressure, he suggested, could be applied to Turkey, including calling into question some $800 million in U.S.-based arms deals.