TEL AVIV – A behind-the-scenes shakeup in the Arab world could result in a flare-up of violence from the Gaza Strip while Iran becomes even closer to the Hamas terrorist group.
Informed Middle Eastern security officials said Qatar is seriously studying a proposal in which it would become more allied with the moderate Arab countries and halt its support for Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.
The plan was given to Qatar by Bahrain and the Saudis. It seeks to isolate Turkey as the main sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood as well as the Islamic insurgency targeting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Without Qatari support, the security officials said, a weakened Hamas would be forced back into the Iranian axis, a move that could result in more violent attacks from Gaza aimed at both Israel and Egypt.
Besides its support for the Gaza Strip’s Islamic rulers, Qatar was a major sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was deposed from power in Egypt in a military coup last year.
TRENDING: 'Art of the Deal': How Trump turns COVID issue into 'win-win'
The Qatar-financed Al Jazeera was widely seen as a propaganda arm of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, but lately it has tempered its support of the Islamic supremacist organization. Egypt last year declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group.