Qatari PM: We won’t write check to rebuild what Israel destroyed

DOHA — Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani indicates that his country will not foot the bill for rebuilding Gaza, despite speculation that Doha would be the main reconstruction backer.

“We are not the ones who are going to write the check to rebuild what others destroyed,” Al Thani says during an onstage interview at the Doha Forum.

He indicates that Qatar will limit its funding to humanitarian aid, declaring that Doha will continue supporting the Palestinian people and do what it can to alleviate their suffering.

“Our payments will only go to help the Palestinian people if we see that the help coming to them is insufficient,” he says without elaborating.

If Qatar decides not to back reconstruction projects in Gaza, it is even more unclear who would be willing to do so, as Doha had been seen to place fewer conditions on its support, whereas other wealthy Gulf countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia have insisted that they won’t offer funds absent a clear pathway to the establishment of a Palestinian state, which Israel rejects.

At the end of the interview by Tucker Carlson, the conservative commentator announces that he’ll be purchasing a home in Qatar tomorrow. Carlson explains that while he has never taken money from the Gulf state, he deeply admires its mediation efforts. He acknowledges that he is regularly accused of being bought by Qatar but jokes that now he will be the one paying Qatar, and Doha will have to serve as his mouthpiece in return.