What’s behind Arab monarchs’ fixation on Gaza?

TEHRAN,Nov.10(MNA)--After Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani’s recent trip to the Gaza Strip, Bahraini officials decided to visit the tiny enclave in order to raise their country’s profile in the region. But why are wealthy Arab monarchs suddenly so fixated on Gaza and what is the real aim of these trips? Over the past decade, the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar has pursued a policy of raising its profile in the region through spending its huge oil and gas revenues. Qatar’s contribution to the reconstruction of Lebanon and its financial assistance to the Iraqi government are two clear examples of this policy. During his recent trip to Gaza, the Qatari emir reportedly provided the government of Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh with a huge sum of cash, which was needed to run the Gaza Strip. However, the Gaza visit cannot cover up the Qatari emir’s close relations with the United States and Israel. Qatar currently hosts the biggest U.S. military base in the Persian Gulf region, and Israelis are welcomed by Qatari officials during their secret trips to Doha. In fact, the Qatari emir visited Gaza to conceal his close cooperation with Israel, which has increased since the beginning of the crisis in Syria. Qatar is currently one of the main supporters of the armed rebels in Syria, and along with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the Qatari government has provided a huge amount of money and weaponry to the insurgents fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa is also planning a visit to Gaza, apparently to decrease the international pressure over his government’s crackdown on the popular uprising in the tiny island nation. Most Bahrainis regard their ruler as completely illegitimate and have repeatedly demanded that he resign. However, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United States, the Bahraini government is continuing its massive crackdown on protesters. The king of Bahrain also wants to use his trip to Gaza to strengthen the alliance of Sunni rulers against the Shia people of the region. The small states in the Persian Gulf like Qatar have no great history or traditions to boast about to the major countries of the region. The Qatari government only relies on its huge oil revenues and its ownership of a major media outlet. Qatar’s financial assistance to the government of Gaza is in line with this policy, although political analysts believe that the cash will not weaken the spirit of resistance in Gaza. To fight the Zionists, Hamas and other resistance movements in the region need training and military and logistical assistance. These are more important than the money provided by Qatar, and the traditional powers of the region, including Iran, have provided more assistance in this regard. Thus, Qatar’s infusions of cash will have no impact on Iran’s spiritual and strategic influence in Gaza, and there is expected to be no decline in relations between Iran and Hamas. Hossein Ruivaran is a Middle East expert based in Tehran. (By Hossein Ruivaran )