Black Man Spy - Flash Traffic: Malcolm in the Middle East

This Ain't Your Daddy's Palestine Crisis. My week long journey to the Gulf States gave me a VERY different perspective on HAMAS and its future.

Doha Qatar may be HAMAS’s headquarters but it’s now under a very fine microscope … and the former funders don’t like what they see. (Photo: Malcolm Nance)

The second week of the Israel-HAMAS war has turned into a waiting game to see how Israel will strike the Gaza Strip, and what impact it will have on the strategic balance in the Middle East. Without any question Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu intends for there to be a vengeful response in which Hamas will unquestionably, be eradicated both militarily and politically. But this can't be done by open warfare alone. It will require diplomatic finesse, and a subtle co-option of the now reticent neighboring Arab nations and the gulf states.

For a very long time, the funding for Palestinian, terrorist groups, as well as Al-Qaeda and Isis, came from the extremely rich and upper middle class in Arab states, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Other money came from hard working Palestinians, who enriched themselves living as part of t…