(New York, N.Y.) — Today, Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Chief Executive Officer Ambassador Mark D. Wallace and CEP President Frances F. Townsend announced a global boycott of Qatari-owned hotel properties until Qatar and the Al Thani Royal Family surrender the orchestrators of the savage October 7th massacre in Israel.
Qatar’s role in the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas in Israel is indisputable:
Ismail Haniyeh, who planned and celebrated the Israeli massacre from his office in Doha, is provided with five-star accommodations in Qatar. Former Hamas leader and Haniyeh’s predecessor, Khaled Meshaal, is afforded the same privileges.
On October 7, mere hours after the slaughter, Qatar’s foreign ministry claimed to “hold Israel solely responsible for the ongoing escalation [i.e. the massacre of Israeli women and children by Hamas] due to its ongoing violations.”
On October 11, Haniyeh issued a video address calling for supporters around the world to join Hamas in its pursuit of barbaric violence. This global platform was provided by the Al Thanis on the Qatari-owned and controlled network, Al Jazeera.
On October 12, Meshaal echoed Haniyeh’s address, calling for an October 13 “Day of Rage” from the comfort of his accomadations in Qatar.
On October 14, Qatar hosted a meeting between Haniyeh and Iran’s foreign minister, who congratulated Haniyeh on his successful execution of thousands of innocent Israelis.
On October 16, the Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that Qatar would not be closing Hamas’ political office, nor detaining any senior Hamas figures.
On October 19, while in Qatar, Meshaal flatly and repeatedly refused to acknowledge any harm inflicted upon Israeli civilians in a TV interview with Al-Arabiya and referred to the massacre as “an ingenious moment.”
Qatar has financed Hamas since at least 2018 to the tune of $360 to $480 million annually. Hamas leadership lives and operates comfortably there while the Al Thanis promote its malign activities. CEP has called on Qatar to arrest Hamas leadership since 2017. There is no excuse for their refusal to do so.
Ambassador Wallace and former U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Frances F. Townsend stated:
“Qatar’s hospitality has allowed Hamas leadership to oversee its atrocities in comfort, safety, and luxury. The Al-Thanis claim to be a U.S. ally while playing host to the Osama bin-Laden of our time. They must enact real justice by detaining the criminals they harbor. Until they do, Qatar should feel the full weight of economic and diplomatic isolation, beginning with a boycott of its extensive hotel holdings.
No one should walk through the halls of any Qatari-owned properties worldwide as long as Hamas’s mass murderers sit in luxury in Doha’s five-star accomodations.”
CEP has already demanded that Qatar and the Al Thani Royal Family detain Haniyeh and other Doha-based Hamas leadership. They have refused. CEP has called for a global Qatar asset freeze until and unless Doha complies. They have not responded.
It is untenable that the Qatari government should continue to profit from its business interests around the world while funds are re-patriated and used to support the perpetrators of mass murder. CEP now calls for a full boycott of all Qatari-owned hotel properties, beginning with:
- The Savoy Hotel, London
- The Ritz-Carlton, London
- The Connaught, London
- The Churchill, London
- The Plaza Hotel, New York
- The Westin Excelsior, Rome
- The St. Regis, San Francisco
No responsible party should patronize a Qatari-owned business as long as Qatar refuses to take responsibility for its role in one of the worst atrocities in living memory.
To read The Wall Street Journal’s report on UANI and CEP’s previous call to action, please click here.
To read The Telegraph’s report citing CEP’s Chief Executive Officer Mark Wallace’s call for a Qatari asset freeze until it surrenders Hamas leadership to the U.S. and/or Israel, please click here.
To read CEP’s report, Qatar: Extremism and Terrorism, please click here.
CEP has already called on Qatar to expel Hamas leadership, but they continue to enable terrorist behavior. To read CEP’s HARBORS Campaign Report on Qatar, please click here.