Senior level figures tied to Qatar took to X to praise the recent terror attack in Jerusalem, which led to the massacre of six Israelis.
By Rachel Avraham
Following Israel’s recent airstrike targeting the Hamas leadership in Qatar, it should be apparent to all that Qatar is not an impartial negotiator and are not a force for moderation in the Middle East region. A previous MEMRI reported cited how many senior level figures in Qatar glorify Hamas. Now, MEMRI has done a fresh report, highlighting how numerous journalists, religious figures and academics tied to Qatar have even praised the recent terror attack in Jerusalem.
According to a recent report in MEMRI, “Journalists in Qatar’s government media, including the Al-Jazeera network, as well as members of the International Union of Muslim Clerics (IUMS), an arm of the Qatari regime that disseminates anti-West Islamic terrorist ideology, took to X to celebrate the September 8, 2025 shooting in Jerusalem in which six Israeli civilians were murdered. The clerics and journalists praised the shooters and encouraged Palestinians and Israeli Arabs to carry out further attacks. This is in line with the official Qatari policy of extending unreserved support to the Palestinian terror organizations, chief of them Hamas.”
Muhammad Al-Mukhtar Al-Shinqiti, a lecturer at Qatar University and a member of the IUMS, which is supported by the Qatari establishment, shared pictures of the terrorists and of the site of the attack, and wrote: “The heroic operation of istishhad [self-sacrifice] in Jerusalem today came to remind the depraved Zionists that the conflict with them is an existential one and that the war of extermination they are waging against the people of Gaza will not save them from the inevitable fate that awaits anyone who is aggressive towards this great [Muslim] nation. Allah, accept the two martyrs, [the shooters] Muthana Naji Amru and Muhammad Bassam Taha, into the Seventh Heaven [the part of Paradise where the souls of the righteous reside].”
Another IUMS member, Muhammad Al-Sagheer, justified the attack and called for more such operations, writing: “Six settlers were killed and 15 were wounded in an istishhad operation carried out by two young Palestinians in the north of occupied Jerusalem. The operation was a response to the occupation’s crimes against the people of the [West] Bank and Gaza. The resistance factions have praised the martyrs’ action. If the people of the [West] Bank and the Palestinians of the interior [i.e., Israeli Arabs] enter the picture, it will change the equation and at least make things easier for the people of Gaza. #Gaza_Is_Calling_You.”
Hosam Yahia, a presenter on Qatar’s Al-Jazeera network, likewise incited more terror attacks against Israelis by quoting statements made in July 2025 by Hamas’s military spokesman Abu Obeida: “I call on our heroic young people to escalate the resistance all over Jerusalem and the [West] Bank before what still remains of Palestine is lost.”
According to MEMRI, Al-Jazeera presenter Ayman Azzam shared details about the shooting and footage from the site of the attack. In a separate post he commented: “The number of fatalities is rising. Are you sad?!” and added a winking smiley emoji. In another post he shared a picture of the gun used by one of the shooters, and remarked: “[The gun was] locally manufactured, an innovation of the Palestinian nation of giants…”
Fatima Alsmadi, a researcher at the Al-Jazeera Center for Studies, wrote on X: “…By Allah, you will never expunge the resistance. It will come at you from the right and the left, from above and below, from everywhere. An operation has brought down five Zionists in northern Jerusalem.” According to MEMRI, minutes after the shooting was first reported, Egyptian journalist and filmmaker Assaad Taha, who was formerly a presenter on Al-Jazeera and a columnist in the Qatari government daily Al-Sharq, wrote on X: “Wonderful morning in Jerusalem.”
Abdullah Al-Shayji, a columnist for the Qatari government daily Al-Sharq, shared details about the shooting and added: “This is the outcome of the Zionists’ arrogant aggression, violence and crimes: a new generation of young people who lead a hardline position, oppose normalization and avenge the murder and extermination of their people, relatives and compatriots [in Gaza].”
This stands in stark contrast to the United Arab Emirates, who issued an official condemnation of this very same terror attack: “The United Arab Emirates has condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist shooting incident which occurred near Jerusalem, and resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) reaffirmed the UAE’s strong condemnation of these terrorist acts and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence and terrorism aimed at undermining security and stability. The Ministry expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, and to the State of Israel and its people, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured.”
Photo from Khamenei.ir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamim_bin_Hamad_Al_Thani#/media/File:Emir_of_Qatar,_Feb._19,_2025_(cropped).jpg
