As The 'Qatargate' Investigation Unfolds In Israel, Egyptian Journalists And MPs Accuse Qatar Of Conspiring Against Egypt

Memri

03-04-2025

Details of the "Qatargate" investigation in Israel that have been exposed indicate that Qatar may have paid advisors to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to convey to journalists articles on the issue of the Israel-Hamas hostage deal presenting Qatar in a positive light, while at the same time spreading negative messages about Egypt and downplaying its role as an honest broker in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Following the exposure of these details, Egyptian members of parliament and journalists attacked Qatar on X, accusing it of conspiring against Egypt, paying bribes to tarnish Egypt's reputation and to cast aspersions on its role as mediator. They said that Qatar is continuing to act against Egypt, both in secret and openly, as it has done in the past, and that unfortunately it seems that Egypt must protect itself from its Arab sisters.
One journalist even claimed that Qatar was continuing to provide aid and funds to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Egypt with the aim of bringing Egypt to anarchy. At the same time, other journalists stressed that Egypt is a strong and great state that stands fast against the sponsored campaigns against it.
This report will present some of the enraged Egyptian journalists' and MPs' statements about Qatar:
Egyptian MP: Attempting To Harm Egypt Is "An Ideology For Some Senior Qatari Officials"
Egyptian MP and media personality Mostafa Bakry posted on his X account on April 3, 2025: "The Qatargate scandal proves that attempting to undermine and besmirch and damage Egypt's role constitutes an ideology for some senior Qatari officials... The Qatargate scandal has proven that there are those who continue to scheme, in secret and openly, against Egypt, its role, its security, and its stability. Egypt is great, its positions are honorable and it operates for the benefit of the Islamic nation, with no expectation of gratitude from anyone, so why do some of the people persist in conspiring [against it]!?" [1]
X.com/BakryMP, April 3, 2025
Former Egyptian MP: There Is Nothing Dirtier Than An Arab Country That Pays Money To Vilify Another Arab Country
In an April 2, 2025 post on his X account, former Egyptian MP Mohamed Abu Hamed wrote: "To tell the truth, I never say anything dirtier than an Arab country paying money in order to vilify the role played by another Arab country and create an imaginary role for itself. Unfortunately, I think that Egypt must beware of its brother Arabs more than its enemies..." [2]
X.com/MohamedAbuHamed, April 2, 2025.
Egyptian MP: Bribery And Television Channels Will Not Help Empower "The Dwarf" – i.e. Qatar
Mahmoud Badar, journalist and Egyptian MP, posted on his X account about "the dwarf," hinting at the tiny country of Qatar: "Oh dwarf, oh little one, bribery, TV channels, noise, commotion, and the loud voice will never increase your role or size. The great will remain great in accordance with the laws of history and geography... and the little dwarf will remain a little dwarf, regardless of how many TV channels it creates, how many people it buys, or how much it pays out in bribes." [3]
Journalist Affiliated With The Egyptian Government: The Traitors And Mercenaries Of The Muslim Brotherhood Accept Bribes To Harm Egypt; Neither Palestine Nor Jerusalem Interests Them
In a post on his X account with the hashtag #Qatargate, Ahmed Mousa, an Egyptian journalist and TV anchor who is considered to be close to the El-Sisi regime, wrote; "You should be aware and know why they attacked Egypt, its leadership, and its role as an respected mediator in the deal between Hamas and Israel... The traitors in the [Arab] homelands from among the Muslim Brotherhood, and their branches and the mouthpieces of their toilets and their sewers, have nothing to do besides attack Egypt and cast doubts on its role, its integrity, and its mediation [efforts] to end the [Israeli] aggression against Gaza. These mouthpieces operate like mercenaries who speak out [against Egypt] in exchange for money. Gaza, Palestine and Jerusalem do not interest them – only the forbidden money that they are stealing. The target is Egypt: they attacked it and downplayed the importance of its role [while at the same time] strengthening and inflating the role of Qatar in the deal to exchange prisoners for hostages. This scandal, which was exposed by Israel, is the talk of the day around the world... The whole story is campaigns for pay; agents who received payment in exchange for tarnishing the role of Egypt, which stood steadfast as granite in the face of all these sponsored campaigns against it." [4]
Egyptian Journalist: Qatar Has Not Stopped Funding The Muslim Brotherhood In Egypt In Order To Bring It To Anarchy
Maher Farghali, an Egyptian journalist and researcher who studies Islamic movements wrote: "How do you know that a writer belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood even if he isn't an [official] member of the organization? [You know this] if he completely ignores the discourse about the Qatargate affair, or what Al-Jazeera refers to as 'the issue of the Qatari funds' paid by Qatar to the advisers to [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu with the aim of sullying the name of Egypt in its role to stop the war against Gaza. The issue is a very big scandal, but they [i.e. the Muslim Brotherhood] hear nothing and see nothing." [5]
In another post, he wrote: "The Qatari support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is ongoing and has never stopped over the past years. The list is very long, and the budget [that Qatar allocates for this] totals hundreds of millions of dollars, which reached the pockets of the senior members of this [Qatari] network. [Yet] this has not realized even one of the main objectives, which is to bring Egypt to anarchy..."
[1] X.com/BakryMP, April 3, 2025.
[2] X.com/ MohamedAbuHamed, April 2, 2025.
[3] X.com/ma7mod_badr, April 1, 2025.
[4] X.com/ahmeda_mousa, April 2, 2025.
[5] X.com/maherfarghali, April 2, 2025.