This post has been updated for clarity and to reflect that the location of the event was changed from City Centre Doha to Intercontinental Doha. After publication, the event was moved once again, as we reported here.
As Hamas readies to introduce its new charter at a swanky Qatar hotel Monday, according to a publicly available invitation, the company that owns the hotel is coming under scrutiny.
The Intercontinental Hotels Group franchises or operates dozens of properties in America, and hosting the Hamas meeting could be in violation of a U.S. law that prohibits material support for terrorism, legal and terror finance experts told THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
Central to the meeting will be the “official declaration of the political document of the Hamas movement (the document of principles and general policies),” according to an independent translation. Hamas is a designated foreign terror organization.
Senior Hamas political leader Khaled Meshaal extended the invitation. During a 2015 press conference at the Four Seasons Doha, Meshaal reportedly called on Palestinians to engage in “resistance in all its forms” against Israel.
This year’s gathering appears to be taking place at the Intercontinental Doha, according to the invitation. The Intercontinental Hotels Group is a British-based company that owns several major chains in America.
The meeting appears to have originally been scheduled at the City Centre Rotana Doha hotel, as reported by TWS, but then cancelled when the hotel learned that the event involved Hamas.
A hotel receptionist at the Intercontinental Doha told TWS that a 150 person event is scheduled from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday. The original invitation last week listed 6:45 p.m. as the event time. Intercontinental Hotels Group did not respond for comment in time for publication.
Experts are questioning whether the company is in violation of provisions that bar material support to terror groups like Hamas.
“You can’t do business in this country if you’re also doing business with a designated terror organization,” said Brooke Goldstein, director of the Lawfare Project and a human rights attorney. “Intercontinental, I would assume, because they have hotels here in the United States, they do business here in the United States, I’m sure they have significant assets here‐‐they would then open themselves up to liability under U.S. law.”
“Material support for terrorism doesn’t just mean money. It means the provision of any type of resources that assist a terrorist group,” she added. “You don’t have to give them weapons or money to be held liable.”
Goldstein called on the Department of Justice to look into and verify the situation. If the meeting is being relocated to the Intercontinental, the hotel “should be issued a very stern warning” not to host it, she said.
“If they nonetheless carry through and host a designated terrorist group with American blood on their hands, then they have to be held liable,” she told TWS.
The State Department should also address Qatar’s broader support for terror groups such as the Taliban and Hamas, said Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“The fact that they allow for these terrorist groups to establish a home base in Qatar is a serious red flag,” he said.
The U.S. has a major airbase in Qatar and benefits from the country’s foreign investments.
Hamas officials confirmed in March that the group is drafting a new charter. It is expected to use softer language, referring to “occupiers” rather than Jews as the enemy. It will likely still not recognize Israel or renounce terrorism, Schanzer said.
“As we understand it, it is an attempt to dial black on some of the anti-Semitism and overt terrorist leanings of the organization—to try to re-brand itself a little bit,” he said. “They are going to be delivering this document in front of a range of Western journalists.”
Hamas is holding the meeting about one week after Defense Secretary James Mattis visited the region.
