Mehrushka
Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
Qatari emir's visit to Gaza is a boost for Hamas
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani becomes first Arab leader in years to visit the impoverished coastal Gaza striP
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in Rafah, Gaza. Photograph: Abed Rahim Khatib/Demotix/Corbis
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is used to basking in the limelight. But when the emir of Qatar arrived in Gaza on Tuesday – the first Arab leader in years to visit the impoverished coastal strip – he was hailed for breaking its siege, demonstrating his country's huge and growing influence in the Middle East.
Palestinians rolled out the red carpet for the emir as his black Mercedes bumped along a rutted main road that he has promised to rebuild, past white and maroon Qatari flags, the song Thank You, Qatar playing endlessly on local radio and TV.
Sheikh Hamad flew to Egypt and crossed the border into Gaza, a move billed as breaking the blockade in force since the Islamists of Hamas took power in 2007. It also underlined the ability of the tiny, fabulously rich Gulf state to punch above its weight internationally.
He arrived with 90 tonnes of aid and pledged $400m (250m) to invest in housing and infrastructure to replace property damaged in the 2008-09 war with Israel.
Flanked by his wife, the elegant and high-profile Sheikha Mozah, he spoke to a large crowd at Gaza's Islamic University, the biggest event of a six-hour stay.
The last head of state to visit the strip was King Abdullah of Jordan, who went there in 1999 for talks with then Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat.
Predictably, the brief royal visit was the top news item on al-Jazeera, the satellite TV channel owned by the emir's family and which has been an unabashed and influential cheerleader for the uprisings of the Arab spring from Tunisia to Syria.
Qatar's ambitious move was a stunning boost for Hamas, shunned by Israel, the US and western countries as a terrorist organisation. Ismail Haniyeh, its deposed prime minister, called it a historic event that had broken the "unjust blockade".
"The visit gives Hamas legitimacy in the Arab world and internationally," said Mkhaimar Abusada, an independent analyst at Gaza's al-Azhar university. It was further striking evidence that Qatar, whose per-capita income is now the highest in the world, is in effect using its enormous oil and gas riches and close ties to Islamist organisations to expand its regional influence in the wake of its involvement in the uprisings against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
"The emir is confirming that Qatar is the principal supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood takeover in Egypt and everywhere else," said Ahmed Asfahani, the respected al-Hayat newspaper columnist. "Qatar is using the Brotherhood to promote its own interests. It also shows that Qatar is trying to replace Iran as a major player on the Palestinian issue."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/23/qatari-emir-welcome-gaza-visit
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani becomes first Arab leader in years to visit the impoverished coastal Gaza striP
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is used to basking in the limelight. But when the emir of Qatar arrived in Gaza on Tuesday – the first Arab leader in years to visit the impoverished coastal strip – he was hailed for breaking its siege, demonstrating his country's huge and growing influence in the Middle East.
Palestinians rolled out the red carpet for the emir as his black Mercedes bumped along a rutted main road that he has promised to rebuild, past white and maroon Qatari flags, the song Thank You, Qatar playing endlessly on local radio and TV.
Sheikh Hamad flew to Egypt and crossed the border into Gaza, a move billed as breaking the blockade in force since the Islamists of Hamas took power in 2007. It also underlined the ability of the tiny, fabulously rich Gulf state to punch above its weight internationally.
He arrived with 90 tonnes of aid and pledged $400m (250m) to invest in housing and infrastructure to replace property damaged in the 2008-09 war with Israel.
Flanked by his wife, the elegant and high-profile Sheikha Mozah, he spoke to a large crowd at Gaza's Islamic University, the biggest event of a six-hour stay.
The last head of state to visit the strip was King Abdullah of Jordan, who went there in 1999 for talks with then Palestinian president, Yasser Arafat.
Predictably, the brief royal visit was the top news item on al-Jazeera, the satellite TV channel owned by the emir's family and which has been an unabashed and influential cheerleader for the uprisings of the Arab spring from Tunisia to Syria.
Qatar's ambitious move was a stunning boost for Hamas, shunned by Israel, the US and western countries as a terrorist organisation. Ismail Haniyeh, its deposed prime minister, called it a historic event that had broken the "unjust blockade".
"The visit gives Hamas legitimacy in the Arab world and internationally," said Mkhaimar Abusada, an independent analyst at Gaza's al-Azhar university. It was further striking evidence that Qatar, whose per-capita income is now the highest in the world, is in effect using its enormous oil and gas riches and close ties to Islamist organisations to expand its regional influence in the wake of its involvement in the uprisings against Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
"The emir is confirming that Qatar is the principal supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood takeover in Egypt and everywhere else," said Ahmed Asfahani, the respected al-Hayat newspaper columnist. "Qatar is using the Brotherhood to promote its own interests. It also shows that Qatar is trying to replace Iran as a major player on the Palestinian issue."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/23/qatari-emir-welcome-gaza-visit
