Combatting Corruption - Qatar Supporting Hamas

Since Hamas has taken over control of the Gaza strip in 2006, the lives of the Palestinian people have continuously worsened. This is not due to the lack of international aid or lack of organized internal leadership. Instead, the cause of the detrimental conditions that the people of Gaza are living in, is constant, rampant, and widespread corruption on behalf of their so-called leaders. Almost all of Hamas’s top leadership have left Gaza through Egypt, relocating themselves and their families to wealthy Gulf States. Ismail Haniyeh moved his entirely family to Turkey, and many other Hamas leaders live in Qatar, where they live lives of immense luxury. In fact, Hamas’s top leadership are all carrying net worth in the billions. Mousa Abu Marzook, recognized as a Specially Designated Terrorist by the U.S, is estimated to be worth between $2-3 billion; Khaled Mashaal is estimated to be worth between $2-5 billion; and Ismail Haniyeh is estimated to be worth many millions as well, though he registers almost all of his assets in his sons’ names, so his exact wealth is unknown. Even mid-level Hamas officials enjoy the spoils of corruption, such as junior manager Iman Taha, who was once a poor child from the al-Borg refugee camp, and recently built a home in central Gaza worth over $1 million. In fact, The Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, a very prestigious newspaper in the Arab world, reported that at least 600 millionaires were living in the Gaza Strip only eight years after Hamas came to power. In 2022, Saudi news website Elaph.com reported that Ma’az Haniyeh, Ismail Haniyah’s son and head of Hamas' political bureau, managed to acquire a Turkish passport, and uses it to travel abroad, manage the family’s extensive real estate investments, and visit night clubs, drinking alcohol and partying with women.

All of Hamas’s leaders were born and raised under the difficult conditions of the Gaza strip, with little money and few opportunities. However, since coming to power, Hamas’s leaders have wrung the world dry with endless support under the guise of humanitarian aid for Gaza’s residents. But instead of using that support to buy food, employ citizens, and provide medical supplies, Hamas leaders have spent it all on weapons, tunnels, and their own personal wealth, while the Palestinian people suffer. Hamas leadership even takes money from its own people. When Qatar provided millions to help rebuild Gaza after the 2014 war, building free housing for Gaza residents, Hamas charged the families $40,000 per home. This is an exorbitant sum where the average person makes $174 a month. Similarly, when Israel seizes fishing boats that wander past accepted fishing territory, Hamas will charge the fisherman to get their boats back. While the world remains blissfully unaware of the way that Hamas’s corruption is decimating the basic human rights of the Palestinian people, the residents of Gaza have grown tired and angry. In 2022 Gazan activists launched a social media campaign accusing Hamas leadership of corruption.