Documents reveal Qatar’s role in 2006 Lebanese war

Documents reveal the role played by a Qatari organization in the 2006 Lebanese war, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper revealed on Sunday.

The documents obtained by the newspaper revealed the involvement of Eid al-Tahni foundation in supporting and financing Fatah al-Islam in 2006.

In May 2007, clashes initiated by Fatah al-Islam group resulted in many causalities and fatalities in the army, as well as large displacements of civilians from the Nahr al-Bared camp.

Members of the foundation working in Lebanon, financially and medically supported a number of sections of the camp. The money was given to three sections classified as extremists by the Lebanese security. Most of them are accused of bombings of American restaurants in Tripoli.

Support for Fatah al-Islam figures, extremist clerics

According to the documents, Eid al-Thani Charity Foundation was active in Lebanon and provided financial support to the Islamic Jihad movement in Palestine and a number of Fatah al-Islam figures. The organization's work in Lebanon is run by an extremist religious leader who has tried to incite sectarianism in Lebanon.

The documents included some details that began a year before the disruption of the security situation in the Nahr al-Bared camp. A member of the Foundation visited Beirut and Tripoli twice during his stay in Lebanon, where he met with a number extremist religious leaders. The member announced his support and assistance. Among the members was ‘Osbat al-Ansar,’ a terrorist group as classified by the United Nations and a number of Arab countries.

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The documents revealed that Qatar had donated funds to return people to Nahr al-Bared camp in 2007, after financing extremists to displace people from the camp. The documents reaffirm Qatar’s political double standards towards various Arab countries, which Qatar entered under the donation cover.

Role of Abdul Rahman Al Nuaimi Al-Thani

The charity foundation is Qatar’s way of terrorism financing and is on the list of terrorism.

Abdul Rahman al-Nuaimi, a Qatari national, is a member of the foundation’s board and is also listed on the US list of terrorism. Washington described al-Nuaimi in 2013, “as the Qaeda funder providing it with money and equipment in Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen for more than 10 years.”

The statement issued by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain had collectively designated 59 individuals and 12 institutions , last week, including the Eid al-Thani Foundation, which worked according to the country’s political principles.