Andrew D. Lappinis a redeveloper of urban industrial properties. He is a board member of the Ember Foundation.
(JNS) Has Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s appointed special U.S. Middle East envoy, been incontrovertibly corrupted by Qatar?
The question is prompted by the stench of the proposed ceasefire with Hamas that was announced on May 29, and rejected by the terrorist organization that demanded even more.
Even though Hamas has been reduced to a toothless shell, the proposed deal would have Israel agreeing to a ceasefire for 60 days and then withdrawing from strategic territory that it paid for, inch by inch, with the precious blood of Israeli soldiers and the broken hearts of the Israeli people. Paid for during a defensive war that definitively spoke to the most heinous violations of Western civilization since the Holocaust.
The cherry on top is that instead of contractors employed under the auspices of the U.S. government to provide aid to the civilians in Gaza, the United Nations would be charged with that task. This is the same world body that, despite vehement protests by Israel, sat by for decades, ignoring the obvious and the blatant violations of U.N. Resolution 1701, which ended the war in Lebanon in 2006. In agreeing to that resolution, Israel envisioned buying security; it ended up with an entrenched Hezbollah stronghold that included an arsenal of 150,000 missiles.
And for swallowing this sour apple, only 10 of the emaciated, tortured and starved living hostages, and the remains of 18 already deceased, out of the remaining 58 hostages, shall be delivered to Israel.
This is a shameful deal that offers nothing but more Israeli heartbreak and demoralization. And Hamas demanded more.
Why are we negotiating with barbarians, especially those who have been substantially defeated and defanged? Why isn’t the full weight and force of the U.S. government being leveraged for the complete and immediate release of all remaining hostages? Wouldn’t the universal spine of Western civilization be strengthened and reinforced by not stooping to such depravity?
The court of “international opinion,” long a factor in determining U.S. policy in the Middle East, lies dormant at this moment in the shadow of Russian thuggery in Ukraine. The Gulf states, no friends of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, shed no tears with the disempowerment of a mortal foe. Saudi Arabia shares the same perspective on Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. As the patron of Islam’s holiest site, Saudi Arabia may feel some sort of obligation to appear as a “protector” of Islam, but enough so to overturn the applecart?
Does Qatar find some contorted utility in keeping the ghost of Hamas alive? And, if so, has Qatar had its fingers in the crafting of the odious deal that Witkoff has put forth?
It is common knowledge that in 2023, the Qatar Investment Authority, controlled and operated by the government of Qatar, benefactor of Hamas and host to Hamas leadership, bailed out Witkoff’s Park Lane Hotel in New York. Having visited Qatar and spoken at real estate forums, Witkoff is enamored by hotel opportunities in Qatar. It would be hard to believe that the temptation of such a massive opportunity has not tainted his better judgment.
When it comes to the questionable habit of “dealing with the devil,” the special envoy regretfully does not stand alone. In fact, it has been documented by Benjamin Baird, a researcher for the Middle East Forum, that since 2012, Qatar has been on a $40 billion shopping spree in the United States. Baird’s study, “America for Sale,” meticulously catalogued Qatar’s insatiable acquisition of real assets, public opinion and educational influence. Business and real estate are one thing. But the $6.25 billion that Qatar has bestowed on educational institutions and the $72 million it has spent on public relations raise a red flag of great concern.
And there should be, because it has been documented that this overgenerous flow of Qatari money has been the locomotive driving the anti-American, anti-Israeli and antisemitic activity that has besieged college campuses across the nation. It has been the opiate behind the willful blindness to these events by college administrators and the institutions that have been on the receiving end of Qatari largesse. The excessive Qatari public relations campaign has skillfully taken the offensive edge off of the monstrously anti-American, antisemitic core of the progressive movement to the extent that members of Congress, openly spouting anti-American, antisemitic rhetoric, have achieved the status of “protected species.”
According to Human Rights Watch, 95% of Qatar’s population is made up of foreign workers, who Amnesty International says continue to face human-rights issues. Qatar politically and culturally represents the antithesis of everything the United States stands for.
In a world where democracy is being challenged on all fronts, Witkoff, in executing his responsibilities, should seek policies that strengthen democratic allies like Israel instead of deflating them.