Qatar's Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who passed away on Sunday, leaves behind a legacy defined not only by his role as a regional statesman but also by his unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people. He is widely remembered as the only Arab leader to physically break Israel's crippling siege on the Gaza Strip.
A Landmark Visit to Gaza
In October 2012, six years after Israel imposed its international blockade on the territory following the 2006 Palestinian elections, Sheikh Hamad traveled to the embattled Gaza Strip. He was accompanied by his wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and a high-level delegation, bypassing the political isolation that Western powers and regional actors had imposed on the enclave.
The visit drew a massive official and popular reception. Khaled Meshaal, head of Hamas's diaspora office, told Al Jazeera that the visit meant that "Jerusalem, Gaza and Palestine mourn him." Meshaal described Sheikh Hamad as "the first Arab and Muslim leader to visit Gaza," standing by the territory "with chivalry and magnanimity, as if officially announcing the breaking of the siege in its darkest circumstances."
"He was intelligent, brave and a man of principles," Meshaal added.
Ahmed al-Sheikh, a senior journalist and Arab affairs commentator, noted that the Father Emir had "a special kind of love for Palestine." When asked whether any other Arab leader had visited Gaza, al-Sheikh reflected that only Hamad bin Khalifa had done so. He explained that the emir went to Gaza because he saw that everyone around the territory was neglecting it.
During that visit, Sheikh Hamad announced an increase in Qatar's reconstruction grant to Gaza from $254 million to $400 million. This funding laid the groundwork for vital housing, infrastructure, and healthcare projects that benefited thousands of Palestinians. At the Islamic University of Gaza, which awarded him and Sheikha Moza honorary doctorates for their humanitarian efforts, he praised the resilience of the Palestinian people and criticized the international community's double standards.
A Deeply Personal Commitment
Sheikh Hamad's dedication to the Palestinian cause predated the blockade on Gaza. In 1999, he became the first Gulf leader to visit the Palestinian territories since 1967, meeting with the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat during a critical political impasse.
According to al-Sheikh, the emir viewed the Palestinian struggle through a deeply personal lens. When former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon besieged Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah, Sheikh Hamad was profoundly pained. He told his aides that when Sharon attacked the Muqata'a, it felt as though he was attacking Qatar itself.
His connection to Palestine was coupled with a regret that he had never visited Jerusalem before its occupation in 1967. That regret reportedly prompted him to commission an extensive three-hour documentary on the holy city to capture its history and identity.
Rather than relying solely on international intervention, Sheikh Hamad believed in the agency of the Palestinian people. He once told al-Sheikh: "You will do the primary action and without this action there can be no liberation."