Furious over mounting evidence that Qatar and Turkey, a NATO member, have been providing support to the Palestinian terror organization Hamas, a growing number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill are demanding action against both governments.
The Washington Free Beacon reports that a bipartisan coalition — 24 of the 29 members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittees on the Middle East and its Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade — have signed a letter urging the Obama Administration to crack down against Hamas supporters.
The letter (signed by the chairmen and ranking members of both subcommittees), was sent Tuesday to Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen. In it, the members of Congress write that "any entity or nation that continues to back this U.S. designated Foreign Terrorist Organization and provide it material and financial support" should face sanctions.
"Qatar also allows Hamas' top leader, politburo chief Khalid Mishaal, to operate out of its territory knowingly and with impunity. It was even widely reported in the press that Qatar threatened to deport Mishaal if Hamas had accepted an Egypt-backed ceasefire agreement to end this summer's conflict in Gaza,"
they write.
Meanwhile, Turkey "serves as the headquarters for Saleh al-Arouri, who is believed to head Hamas' terrorist operations in the West Bank," according to the lawmakers. "In August, the media reported that he was behind an allegedly thwarted plot to topple, undermine, or replace the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank. Also in August, al-Arouri stated that Hamas was behind the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens this June."
Late last month, Israel lodged a formal complaint to NATO protesting Ankara's support for Hamas.
The Al-Monitor website reported that Hamas is taking Israel's complaint seriously, and the group is worried that it might be a prelude to renewed Israeli efforts to assassinate its leaders abroad.
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