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https://nypost.com/2023/11/07/news/hamas-leaders-worth-11bn-live-luxury-lives-in-qatar/
Hamas leaders worth staggering $11B revel in luxury — while Gaza’s
people suffer
By Isabel Vincent and Benjamin Weinthal
Published Nov. 7, 2023, 5:48 p.m. ET
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While their people languish in poverty and are treated as human shields,
the leaders of Hamas live billionaire lifestyles.
The terror group’s three top leaders alone are worth a staggering total
of $11 billion and enjoy a life of luxury in the sanctuary of the
emirate of Qatar.
The emirate has long welcomed the leaders of the terror group and
installed them in its luxury hotels and villas at the same time as it
hosts a vast American military presence.
Now US Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) is sponsoring a bill that would strip
Qatar of its status as a key US ally, The Post has learned, unless it
kicks out the Hamas leadership.
The terrorist group, which is responsible for the antisemitic Oct. 7
massacre of more than 1,400 innocent civilians and soldiers in southern
Israel, continues to hold over 200 hostages in Gaza.
Hamas runs an office in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and leaders Ismail
Haniyeh, Moussa Abu Marzuk and Khaled Mashal maintain a luxurious lifestyle.
Son of Hamas leader
13
One of the sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh lounges in a luxury hotel
suite in Qatar. Haniyeh is worth more than $4 billion.
Ofir Gendelman/ Twitter
Impoverished children in Gaza
13
Hamas leaders live the high life while many of the more than 2 million residents of Gaza City live in abject poverty.
EPA
A map showing where Qatar and the Gaza Strip are in the Middle East
13
Three of the terror group’s top leaders enjoy a life of luxury in the sanctuary of the emirate of Qatar.
Mapcreator.io/OSM.org; AW3D30 (JAXA)
They have been seen at its diplomatic club, photographed on private
jets, and traveled widely.
The leadership would have been there for the 2022 soccer World Cup.
In contrast, most of the population of more than 2 million in the Gaza
Strip, which Hamas has ruled since 2007, live in abject poverty.
Haniyeh, 61, the head of Hamas’ politburo, was prime minister of all Palestinian territory following elections in 2006, although he was
booted from office a year later.
Four Seasons Hotel in Doha
13
Last month, US Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) called on Bill Gates to ban
Hamas from staying at any Four Seasons Hotel, including the one in Doha.
AFP via Getty Images
Skyscrapers on the Corniche in Doha
13
Doha, with its five-star hotels, lavish shopping, arts facilities, and
last year the soccer World Cup, offers a lifestyle for Hamas chiefs far
removed from the reality of Gaza.
moofushi – stock.adobe.com
He continued to rule the Gaza Strip until 2017 before ending up in Qatar.
Haniyeh, a father of 13 who presides over one of the world’s wealthiest terrorist groups, is worth more than $4 billion.
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He has been photographed with his two adult sons, Maaz and Abdel Salam,
living the high life in luxury hotels in Qatar and Turkey, according to
a recent social media post from the Embassy of Israel in the US.
Last week, Haniyeh traveled to Iran to meet with Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran is a longtime sponsor of Hamas.
Last month, the Four Seasons hotel in Doha said he was not one of its
guests after calls for Bill Gates, who owns a controlling stake in the
chain, to kick him out.
It did not address whether he had previously stayed there.
Among its high-end offerings are suites with sea views starting at $900
a night.
The Hamas leader’s son Maaz Haniyeh is known as “the father of real estate” in Gaza for his collection of villas and buildings.
He lives a playboy lifestyle in Turkey, and this year obtained a Turkish passport, according to Israel Today.
Khaled Mashal
13
Hamas leader Khaled Mashal is a table tennis enthusiast. The billionaire
lives a life of luxury in Qatar, and also in Turkey, according to reports. Obtained by NY Post
Khaled Mashal on an exercise bike
13
Mashal is one of the $11 billion squad whose lifestyle has been much
different from that of the people Hamas rules.
Obtained by NY Post
Haniyeh Sr. also has Turkish citizenship, according to reports.
Abu Marzuk, 72, a senior Hamas political leader who heads its
“international relations office,” is estimated by the Israeli government
to be worth $3 billion.
He has a master’s degree in construction management from Colorado State University and was detained in New York when US immigration authorities
found his name on a terrorist watch list in 1995.
And Mashal, 67, who issued a global threat against Jews after the Oct. 7 atrocities, is worth more than $4 billion, according to the Israeli
government.
Abu Marzuk
13
Abu Marzuk, who is widely considered the second in command of Hamas, was arrested by US immigration authorities in 1995 and held at the Manhattan Correctional Center.
REUTERS
Khaled Mashal
13
Khaled Mashal, one of the leaders of Hamas, is worth more than $4
billion, according to reports.
AP
The presence of the Hamas leaders in Qatar has long been justified by
the emirate as part of its support for turning the terror group into “a responsible governing power,” according to a report from the Foundation
for the Defense of Democracies.
The country provides Hamas with between $120 million and $480 million
per year, according to the October report by the Washington, DC-based
nonprofit that studies foreign policy.
“These funds benefit Hamas leaders directly through payroll and kickback schemes and indirectly through social services and government operations
that help Hamas maintain political control over Gaza,” the report said.
Hamas leaders
13
Billionaire Hamas leaders travel by private jet and enjoy five-star
hotels and mansions in Qatar.
Obtained by NY Post
Qatar is also home to the Al Jazeera news channel, which the report
alleges “spreads antisemitism, anti-Americanism and incitement to
violence throughout the Arab world.”
“Qatar is Hamas and Hamas is Qatar,” Yigal Carmon, president of the Washington, DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute, said in an
interview with The Post in Israel.
But moves to force action on Hamas are ramping up in DC.
Khaled Mashal
13
Hamas leader Khaled Mashal enjoys a luxury lifestyle, dining at some of
the Middle East’s best restaurants while in Qatar.
Obtained by NY Post
Ogles’ bill would strip Qatar of its special status in the top tier of America’s non-NATO allies alongside Israel, Taiwan, South Korea,
Australia and Japan.
Ogles told The Post Tuesday, “As Hamas terrorists continue to wreak
havoc on the lives of innocent Israeli civilians, the United States must
ensure there is no ally supporting them. Sadly, the State of Qatar is
still funding and supporting Hamas as its leadership enjoys political
refuge in Doha.”
The country has had the special status since last year, but Ogles’ move
would make it conditional on removing Hamas.
Military commanders
13
The importance of Qatar is regularly underlined, such as this visit by
US Central Command commander Gen. Erik Kurilla to the Qatari armed
forces chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Salem Bin Hamad Al-Nabit, last year.
U.S. Central Command
Along with hosting Hamas, Qatar is also one of the most important
military bases for the US in the Middle East.
It is home to US Central Command’s forward base in the Middle East at
the giant Al Udeid air base, which itself is vital to Air Force
operations in the Gulf.
Qatar is not the only source of Hamas’ cash. The group also took in
nearly $400 million in the last two years from the UN, which does not
recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and troops
13
At Al Udeid air base, the US has one of its most important presences in
the Middle East. Visitors have included Secretary of State Antony
Blinken, in 2021.
AP
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency provided Hamas with $380
million since 2021, according to the FDD.
Much of that cash came from the Biden administration, which has provided
$1 billion to the UNRWA since 2021.
893
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“Since UNRWA has long insisted it has no political screen on its aid,
and since Hamas is viewed as a political party, we know with near
certainty that our taxpayer dollars have been delivered into the hands
of Hamas,” the FDD said, adding that the Trump administration ended US contributions to UNRWA because of the Hamas connection.
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