Qatar has played a dual role since the start of the war in Gaza. On one hand, it is a well-known supporter and funder of Hamas, while on the other hand it is mediating the Israeli hostage release deal. So, what is Qatar’s true face?
"Qatar is at the top of funding terrorism worldwide, even more than Iran," Dr. Udi Levi, former head of a Mossad unit dealing with economic warfare against terrorist organizations and countries that sponsor terrorism, told Ynet Thursday.
"While Iran does it openly and declares it, Qatar does so in a way I call in English 'killing me softly,' by softly killing us. On one hand, it sides with the West, and on the other hand, it funds terrorism."
Can Israelis affected by October 7 sue Qatar directly?
"Israeli nationals can sue entities involved in financing terrorist activities. There's a problem with states, as they’re generally immune from lawsuits unless they are listed on the UN's terror lists, like Iran, for example, allowing to sue them directly."
So, does Qatar have immunity?
"Qatar, as of today, isn’t defined as a terrorist state; therefore, it has immunity," according to Levi. However, he explains: "Qatar transferred funds through various channels, primarily via their largest foundation, Charai, which is one of the largest funding sources for terrorist organizations in the world.”
“So, while you can't sue a country directly, this foundation is fully controlled by the Qatari royal family and also uses Qatari banks owned by the royal family, like Qatar National Bank, which is also one of Qatar’s main channels for funding terrorism worldwide, and these are the bodies that are exposed to indictments. These bodies will also bear the brunt of the lawsuits."
Are there any ongoing lawsuits against Qatar?
"Yes, there are lawsuits that have been going on for several years. By the way, not all are Israeli victims. Perhaps the most interesting one is by Syrian terror victims who accuse Qatari institutions of being the ones who funded Al-Qaeda and its proxy, the Islamic State in Syria.”
“This is a fascinating lawsuit taking place in London, which Qatar is making enormous efforts so that the world won't hear about it and to keep things as much under the radar as possible,” he added.
"There are two other lawsuits going on at the same time. One lawsuit is taking place in the United States on behalf of Israeli victims of terrorism with American citizenship. The case is being conducted in New York, and there’s another one taking place in Israel against Qatar, which, of course, isn’t very known by the public."
Are there legal precedents of terror-funding countries compensating the victims?
"Absolutely, there are precedents for this. For example, the first lawsuit against the Arab Jordanian-Palestinian Bank, in which the bank paid billions of dollars to terror victims. Another such lawsuit was conducted against the Bank of China, which supposedly ended in a secretive settlement, I can say the Chinese paid a lot of money to the affected families."