By: Fern Sidman

In a troubling development that underscores the contradictions at the heart of Qatar’s self-proclaimed mediation role, leading figures in Doha’s state-controlled press have openly celebrated Hamas’s recent attempted kidnapping of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. The revelations, detailed by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) and reported by VIN News on Wednesday, highlight the profound disconnect between Qatar’s portrayal as a neutral broker in hostage talks and the virulent anti-Israel, pro-Hamas rhetoric that continues to dominate its government-owned media platforms.

According to MEMRI’s translation, Jaber Al-Harmi, editor of the Qatari government daily Al-Sharq, took to social media on August 20 to glorify Hamas’s attempted abduction operation in Khan Younis, Gaza.

“Even if the Al-Qassam heroes failed to abduct Zionist soldiers this time around, the second, third or fourth attempts, Allah willing, will manage to add new rats to the number [of hostages] held by the heroes of the brigades,” Al-Harmi wrote. He went on to gloat that the Hamas fighters had managed to send “several Zionist soldiers to hell” while maiming others “with permanent disfigurement and disabilities.”

As VIN News reported, Al-Harmi concluded by wishing “paralysis” upon the hands of what he derisively called “impure criminals” of Israel. His remarks triggered international outrage, prompting him to delete the post in what experts believe was not a personal decision but rather a directive from above.

Dr. Ariel Admoni of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security told i24NEWS that “unlike previous times, the editor deleted his tweet. I interpret this as a top-down order, as Qatar is afraid of being sidelined even further as a mediator, especially amid reports that the next meeting will not be held in Qatar or Egypt.”

This latest episode is not isolated. As VIN News has frequently documented, Qatar’s state-owned media outlets, particularly Al-Sharq and the more internationally visible Al Jazeera, have long been criticized for providing a platform to Hamas and other radical Islamist groups.

On August 24, just days after Al-Harmi’s inflammatory comments, columnist Ihsan Al-Faqih published a piece in Al-Sharq heralding Hamas’s attempted abduction of Israeli soldiers as a “shocking” and “forceful” operation that “confounded” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “upended the strategic military considerations of the Israeli leadership.” She described the attempted kidnapping as Hamas’s “most prominent and forceful operation since October 7, 2023,” arguing that it “proved the resistance is still capable of taking the initiative.”

Meanwhile, Yasser Abu Hilala, the former director of Al Jazeera and a confidant of Azmi Bishara — a disgraced former Israeli Arab politician turned pro-Qatar strategist — likewise extolled Hamas’s actions. “This is an operation that will be studied in military academies,” he wrote. “These are the soldiers of Allah, who, after two years of total destruction, still emerge from the tunnels to abduct the soldiers of the enemy!”

Such rhetoric, as the VIN News report emphasized, not only glorifies terrorism but also emboldens Hamas at a time when Israel continues its painstaking campaign to dismantle the group’s infrastructure across Gaza.

The revelations raise urgent questions about Qatar’s credibility as a mediator in the hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas. While Doha has positioned itself as a humanitarian intermediary — and has even hosted multiple rounds of talks under U.S. and Egyptian auspices — the content of its state-controlled press tells a very different story, one that openly glorifies bloodshed and urges further attacks on Israelis.

As the report at VIN News noted, Qatar’s duplicity has not gone unnoticed. Analysts argue that the emirate is attempting to play both sides: presenting itself to Washington and European capitals as an indispensable interlocutor while simultaneously nurturing Islamist propaganda that undermines peace efforts.

Yigal Carmon, founder and president of MEMRI, has repeatedly warned that Qatar is one of the world’s foremost state sponsors of Islamist terror, pointing to its longstanding financial support for Hamas. The latest glorification of attempted kidnappings by Qatari media only strengthens that claim.

Beyond its internal media ecosystem, Qatar is also seeking to expand its influence abroad. The German daily Die Welt reported this week that Doha has launched “Media City Qatar,” a prestige project aimed at courting Western media organizations to set up operations in the emirate.

According to the report, the German Press Agency (dpa) is already on board, and former German Social Democratic politician Sawsan Chebli has been hired as an advisor to the project. Chebli has herself faced criticism in Germany for making inflammatory anti-Israel statements on social media.

Analysts told Die Welt that the project represents a classic influence strategy: seeking to legitimize Qatar as a global media hub while shielding it from scrutiny over its sponsorship of terror-linked narratives.

This attempt to polish Qatar’s image abroad comes even as its domestic press churns out vitriolic anti-Israel rhetoric, further illustrating the dual-track strategy Doha is pursuing.

Critics of Qatar also stress that the emirate’s embrace of Hamas propaganda cannot be separated from its wider human rights record. Qatar is governed under strict Sharia law, where homosexuality is punishable by death, freedom of the press is non-existent, and criticism of the ruling Al-Thani family is strictly prohibited.

As the VIN News report said, these realities stand in stark contrast to Doha’s carefully cultivated image as a progressive, modern Gulf state — an image burnished through sports sponsorships such as the 2022 FIFA World Cup and now, through its bid to attract Western media companies.

Human rights organizations have consistently called out Qatar for its use of migrant labor under abusive conditions, its silencing of dissent, and its persistent alignment with extremist causes.

From an editorial standpoint, Qatar’s duplicity has now reached an intolerable level. On the one hand, Doha parades itself as a mediator in hostage negotiations — an indispensable player without whom talks cannot proceed. On the other hand, its government-owned newspapers and state media figures openly incite violence, celebrate terrorism, and glorify Hamas operatives as “soldiers of Allah.”

As the VIN News report stressed, no state that genuinely aspires to be a trusted mediator could simultaneously propagate such hate-filled propaganda. The result is that Qatar is not merely undermining peace efforts — it is actively encouraging the very violence those efforts seek to end.

The glorification of Hamas’s attempted kidnapping of IDF soldiers by senior Qatari media figures exposes the deep contradictions at the heart of Qatar’s role in Middle East diplomacy. Far from being a neutral broker, Doha continues to serve as a megaphone for Islamist ideology, even as it courts Western governments and media outlets to enhance its international legitimacy.

As MEMRI has documented, Qatar’s state press has not only celebrated Hamas violence but also explicitly urged the terror group to escalate its operations. Such conduct calls into question the wisdom of entrusting Doha with any role in negotiations that directly affect Israeli lives and regional stability.

The world must ask: Can a regime that praises kidnappers, glorifies killers, and silences dissent truly be relied upon to broker peace?