The Biden administration’s sanctions chief will press Qatari officials on Wednesday in Doha to take more aggressive action to cut off financial flows to Hamas and other Iranian proxies, as Western officials say that tolerance of the group by Gulf nations facilitates terrorist attacks.
Brian Nelson, under secretary for terror finance and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department, is pushing Qatar and other Gulf-state members of the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center to take action against key Hamas financiers that might be operating in their countries, through sanctions or other measures that disrupt funding flows. Hamas has found political and financial support in Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, among others in the Gulf, say Western officials.
The U.S. and several allies have sanctioned scores of Hamas agents over the years, including alleged financiers involved in an international investment portfolio that Western officials say is worth several hundred million dollars.
