Iran and Qatar’s Competition for Hamas
- November 26th, 2012
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Qatar and Iran have sparked a new rivalry over the funding of Hamas, a group primarily responsible for the recent violence against Israel. Qatar has been sending aid in the form of money and food to factions of Hamas in Gaza, and Iran has been attempting to bolster Hamas by donating missiles with increased range to help the group bomb Israel. This fight over Hamas’ friendship is not the first argument to pop up between Iran and Qatar, but it has some of the most serious consequences for relations between the two countries.
The security issue here is not only the competition over Hamas’ loyalty, but the indirect consequences for the other countries in the Middle East, especially Israel. Also, with the unstable state of Syria close by, other terrorist factions may begin competing for countries’ aid, which poses a great threat to the security of the state of Israel.
-Jenna
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/qatars-aid-and-irans-arms-compete-in-battered-gaza/2012/11/23/19148e7c-3590-11e2-92f0-496af208bf23_story.html
This scenario is very interesting on a number of levels. For one, I find it fascinating that Iran and Qatar are “competing” over supporting Hamas. It’s just sort of odd for me to understand this complex relationship in these terms but it makes sense. The fact that Qatar is sending food and money while Iran is sending missiles also makes me wonder if Hamas will end up favoring one country as opposed to the other due to what aid they are given. What’s also interesting to point out is that it can be argued that although these two countries have had strained relations in the past, if they both agreed to fund Hamas under similar terms, they would actually strengthen ties with eachother. However, this would increase the security threat posed to Israel and other U.S. interests in the area, therefore, it is obviously better that Iran and Qatar remain at odds.
-AE