Qatari media’s glorification of terrorism and incitement against the ‘Zionist occupier’ — survey

A series of scathing reports on Qatar’s political leadership and media found shocking trends in media coverage of Israel and expressions of support for Hamas terrorism.  

The U.S.-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) issued bombshell revelations about the pro-Hamas writings of Majed Al-Ansari, the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman, and incitement against Israel in Qatari media at large, including the centerpiece Al Jazeera network.

The disclosure about Al-Ansari, who is also an advisor to the Qatari Prime Minister, was released just before the U.S. rolled out the red carpet for a Qatari delegation that arrived at the start of March for the sixth annual U.S.-Qatar Strategic Dialogue in Washington. Al-Ansari himself was welcomed by the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs, Bill Russo.

The MEMRI report reveals a column written by Al-Ansari in May 2021 for the state-owned newspaper Al-Sharq, where he previously worked. At the time, Israel had just finished its Operation ‘Guardian of the Walls,’ an aerial campaign targeting Hamas in Gaza after it launched thousands of rockets across Israel, including toward Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

In the column, Al-Ansari wrote: "The victory celebration in this latest battle is a celebration of continued progress toward victory in the struggle, since there is a great difference between resistance with stones and bare chests and resistance in which 3,000 missiles are launched into the entity's cities in 10 days.“ 

Rich Goldberg, a leading U.S. expert on Qatar who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, told i24NEWS:

“This is yet one more indicator that Qatar is a loyal ally and supporter of Hamas, not just some Switzerland of the Middle East."

Goldberg added, "Al-Ansari reflects the views and ideologies of the House of [Emir] Al-Thani. There’s zero accountability for Al Jazeera when its Gaza staff are exposed to be terrorists. Why would anyone expect accountability for Al Ansari? This is the real Qatar.” The Al-Thani family rules over the small oil-rich Gulf state.

In a voice message to i24NEWS, a spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment about Al-Ansari’s support for Hamas terrorism. Al-Ansari is the Qatari government’s media face to the outside world. The revelations about his glorification of Hamas terrorism might unfold into a setback for the Al-Thani family which is highly image conscious. 

When asked about Al-Ansari's pro-Hamas remarks and the glorification of terrorism in Qatar's media, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told i24NEWS, "As a part of our 6th Strategic Dialogue convened last week, the United States and Qatar held a first-ever strategic communications session to deepen our ongoing cooperation and commitment to professionalism in media. This collaboration is designed to prevent the spread of false narratives and misinformation, and we look forward to working with Qatar’s MFA on this important initiative."

The spokesperson added, "Qatar is a strategic partner and ally of the United States and has been an indispensable mediator in the current conflict between Israel and Hamas, helping secure the release of more than 100 hostages, including American citizens. We continue to work closely with Qatar to pursue an agreement for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to enable the release of all hostages, safeguard civilians, and expand the provision of critical humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza."

"But as Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken has said on many occasions, 'there can be no business as usual with Hamas,"' the spokesperson concluded.

Al-Sharq, like other Qatari-owned news outlets, is infamous for its pro-terrorism stance and anti-Israel incitement, say experts on Qatari media. MEMRI noted in its report an article from December 14, 2023 titled "Gaza – An Opportunity that Will Not Come Again," written by the paper's deputy editor Abdullah Al-Amadi, who was formerly an advisor to Qatar's Minister of Education. He called to "liberate all of Palestine from the Zionist-Crusader enterprise" no matter how long it takes, and "purge it of all the filth and contamination of the sons of Zion."

Al-Amadi wrote: "The Zionist entity is a Western product and a despicable imperialistic enterprise, garbed in a false religious mantle, that was planted in an Arab and Muslim environment. [This entity] causes us, the Arab and Muslim nation, to be more determined than anyone else to continue our efforts to repel it and destabilize it in the land of Palestine and on any Arab and Muslim land. This action can be termed 'resistance,' and is legitimate from the religious, legal and moral perspectives.” 

He added, "The Gazans are now sacrificing their lives, but this time [their sacrifice] is not in vain. It will be a turning point that will have an impact on the whole world.”

In another article from January 4, 2024, Al-Amadi wrote about the October 7 attack (which Hamas called Operation ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’) that only more attacks like it would stop Israel, which wants to expand “from the Nile to the Euphrates." He said that the operation had exposed the “distorted character of the Zionist narrative” and prompted people around the world to consider why October 7 happened in the first place.

MEMRI also highlighted Qatar’s flagship media operation, Al Jazeera. In an article on its Arabic website dated to January 16, 2024, Bassem Na'im, a member of Hamas's political bureau and a former health minister for the terrorist regime in Gaza, stated that "the heroic operation carried out by the resistance on October 7" was a turning point that would shape the future of the Palestinian cause. He also called the attack "a scaled-down model of the final war of liberation and the disappearance of the Zionist occupation."

Na'im added that “All the signs indicate one thing, namely, that the situation after October 7 will not be the same as the situation before October 7, in terms of the strategic [condition] of the struggle of our Palestinian people and its just cause – whether on the national, regional or international levels, or in terms of the enemy and its future.”

After the Hamas massacre in October, Israeli media reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had urged Qatar “to turn down the volume” on Al Jazeera’s incitement against the Jewish state. Al Jazeera ostensibly has ignored Blinken’s request.

i24NEWS approached Qatar’s embassies in London and Washington to comment on this and did not receive a response. Al Jazeera declined to comment.