Chris Van Hollen: “After all, so long as Hamas was in control in Gaza, how could anyone ask Israel to accept a Palestinian State that…”

“After all, so long as Hamas was in control in Gaza, how could anyone ask Israel to accept a Palestinian State that included Gaza and the West Bank? It is a fair question. So what are some of the ways in which Prime Minister Netanyahu has enabled Hamas to maintain its control in Gaza? Well, another thing we have heard a lot about around here is the money from Qatar that went to Hamas. It is well established that every penny of that money flowed from Qatar to Hamas with the concurrence of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israel. That has been the testimony of witnesses in both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. It has also been well documented in numerous news sources. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record a CNN article entitled ``Qatar sends millions to Gaza for years--with Israel's backing.'' There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From CNN, Dec. 12, 2023] Qatar sent millions to Gaza for Years--with Israel's Backing. Here's What We Know About the Controversial Deal (By Nima Elbagir, Barbara Arvanitidies, Alex Platt, Raja Razek, Nadeen Ebrahim, and Uri Blau) Since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Gulf state of Qatar has come under fire by Israeli officials, American politicians and media outlets for sending hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Gaza, which is governed by the Palestinian militant group.…”