Doha: The Palestinian cause has remained a central issue in the hearts and minds of Qataris - both the leadership and the people, since its inception over seventy years ago. Rooted in steadfast principles and deep convictions, Qatar has consistently supported the cause in all forums, using every available means and resource.
Under the leadership of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the State of Qatar has stood firmly by the Palestinian cause as its primary issue, offering all forms of political, material, and moral support to the brotherly Palestinian people. This support is in defense of the justice of the Palestinian cause and Palestinians' legitimate struggle for freedom and independence.
Qatar has consistently called for a fair resolution of the issue in accordance with international legitimacy, within the framework of the Arab Peace Initiative, which guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as its capital.
The State of Qatar also consistently reaffirmed, in every forum and occasion, its firm rejection of any attempts to undermine the Palestinian cause, whether through mass extermination, displacement projects, settlement expansion, or the imposition of solutions that undermine the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
The Palestinian cause has always been present in every speech delivered by HH the Amir at various forums, locally, regionally and internationally. In his speech during the 53rd ordinary session of the Shura Council, HH the Amir said, "we have stood up and are still standing with our brothers in Palestine, and called on the international community to stop the repetitive Israeli aggression and attacks and lift the unjust siege clamped on the Palestinian people. We stressed that this destruction will be of no avail vis-a-vis the steadfast Palestinian people bent on upholding their legitimate rights. After all this spree of killing and destruction, Israel will have no choice but to comply with what the international community has agreed upon regarding the two-state solution in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy, and to commit to implementing them and accepting a Palestinian state living side by side with it, and for the Palestinian people to obtain all their legitimate rights."
HH the Amir has consistently emphasized in his speeches before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the justice of the Palestinian cause, and the right of its brotherly people to freedom, independence, and the establishment of their own state. His Highness has repeatedly criticized the international community's failure to confront Israeli intransigence.
In his speech at the 79th session of UNGA in September 2024, HH the Amir said that "the ongoing brutal war has fired the coup de grace at international legitimacy and inflicted serious damage on the credibility of the post-World War II concepts on which the international community was founded. The continuation of the humanitarian tragedy of the brotherly Palestinian people for more than seven and a half decades is a shameful stain on the conscience of the international community and its institutions. There is no point in talking about security, peace, and stability in the Middle East region and across the world if not backed by concrete steps leading to an immediate ceasefire and an end to the Israeli occupation of all Arab territories."
Qatar's support for the Palestinian people has not been limited to political, diplomatic, and moral support, but has extended to material aid as well, as it has provided billions of dollars through numerous initiatives aimed at assisting the brotherly Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. In January 2024, and in implementation of the directives of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the country launched a land bridge to supply Gaza with fuel during the first ten days of the ceasefire agreement, delivering 1,250,000 liters daily. This fuel is used to power hospitals, shelters for displaced persons, and essential services.
As part of Qatar's health support for the brotherly Palestinian people, the State of Qatar has received several batches of wounded Palestinians from Gaza in Doha for treatment, under the initiative of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to treat 1,500 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Additionally, a number of Palestinian residents holding Qatari residency were evacuated from Gaza, after being stranded there due to the genocide and their inability to leave before.
Qatar has contributed to supporting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) financially, politically, and diplomatically, enabling it to carry out its mission of providing life-saving assistance to Palestinian refugees. Qatar was the first Arab country to sign a multi-year agreement with UNRWA in 2018 and remains one of the agency's largest supporters. In 2024, Qatar's financial contribution to UNRWA exceeded USD 49 million.
In September 2024, the State of Qatar pledged during a ministerial meeting in New York an additional USD 100 million as part of its response to the humanitarian crisis in the Strip, including support for UNRWA, which plays a vital role in providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
As the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip continued to deteriorate after Oct. 7, 2023, the State of Qatar and its relevant agencies continued to provide various humanitarian assistance to the people of the Strip. It operated an air bridge that included 116 Qatari aircraft carrying urgent relief aid, including food and medicine, to the Gaza Strip. The total aid provided reached 4,766 tons.
HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was the first Arab leader to visit the Gaza Strip in 2012, since the announcement of the imposition of the blockade on its residents and the closure of the crossings. That year, the State of Qatar established the Gaza Reconstruction Committee, emanating from Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The committee managed and implemented the generous grant of the State of Qatar provided by HH the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani for the reconstruction of Gaza, amounting to USD 407 million, in addition to other Qatari grants.
Through HH the Father Amir's grant, the committee implemented dozens of projects in the fields of housing, buildings, roads, infrastructure, health, agriculture and other sectors to serve the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, under the full supervision and continuous follow-up of HE Chairman of Qatar's Gaza Reconstruction Committee Ambassador Mohammed Al Emadi, in cooperation with Palestine's Ministry of Public Works and Housing, representing the Palestinian government, and the technical committees supervising the implementation of the projects.
Since 2013, and under the directives of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatari aid and grants have not stopped to support the residents of the Gaza Strip. Through this, the Qatari Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza has completed the supply of fuel needed to operate the Gaza Power Plant in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). The Qatari Committee, in cooperation with the Qatar Fund for Development, has also continued to provide cash assistance to 100,000 needy families in the governorates of the Gaza Strip monthly, at a rate of USD 100 per family.
Within the framework of its national role in supporting the Palestinian cause and achieving Arab solidarity, Doha hosted three Arab summits, including the emergency Doha Summit in January 2009. Known as the Gaza Summit, it called for suspending the Arab Peace Initiative, halting all forms of normalization with Israel, and establishing a fund to rebuild Gaza.
Qatar has provided strong support for the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In 2013, during the Arab Summit held in Doha, Qatar launched an initiative to establish a fund called "Support for Jerusalem" with a budget of USD one billion. During the Arab Economic Summit held in Kuwait in January 2009, Qatar announced USD 250 million in assistance to participate in the Gaza reconstruction after the 2008 aggression. At a conference held in Cairo in October 2014 after Israel's July-August 2014 war on the Gaza Strip, Qatar pledged USD one billion to rebuild the Strip.
Qatar is keen to pay its annual share to support the Palestinian Authority, and it continues to provide a lot of humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Occupied Jerusalem (Al-Quds), through Qatari charitable associations, in addition to its contributions to support Palestinian educational institutions. It has also received Palestinian teachers to work in Qatar.
On the level of Palestinian reconciliation, Doha has led great efforts to end the division and achieve reconciliation between the Fatah and Hamas movements. On the humanitarian level, Qatar was also the first to host 15 Palestinian prisoners who were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal in 2011. They are among 40 prisoners whom Israel stipulated to be deported outside the Palestinian territories, out of a total of 477 who were released.
The State of Qatar has been exerting intensive efforts with its partners to achieve a final cessation of the war on the Gaza Strip, to stop the bloodshed in Palestine, deliver aid and release prisoners and detainees. Qatar also hopes that this will be a prelude to a political path toward a just solution to the Palestinian issue.
