Qatar recently cemented an enormous weapons deal with the United States. But this week, the tiny, resource-rich Gulf kingdom with outsized geopolitical ambitions — and a seemingly bottomless pocketbook — might be setting itself up for more problematic relations with the U.S.

Last week, Qatar closed the largest sale of American weaponry so far this year, purchasing $11 billion worth of Patriot missile batteries and Apache attack helicopters. The sale revealed that Qatar hasn't exactly been lacking in strategic daring in the wake of its failed bet on Muslim Brotherhood-linked political movements throughout the Middle East, and its subsequent fallout in diplomatic relations with neighboring Gulf monarchies.

But the Gaza-Hamas conflagration casts a problematic light on the Qataris, who have been one of Hamas's most reliable international partners.

Then-Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani made the first official visit to Hamas-controlled Gaza of any head of state in October of 2012. During the visit, he pledged over $400 million in assistance to the territory, and some significant but currently-unknown amount of that money has ended up in Hamas's pocket.

Jonathan Schanzer, the vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Business Insider that Qatar is "believed to be the primary financier of Hamas," which has estimated annual operating expenses of around $1 billion.

In June, Qatar attempted to transfer money for civil service salaries for Gaza-based Hamas members through the Arab Bank, a transaction that the Bank disallowed under reported U.S. pressure.

Hamas's apparent hard-line position in its latest confrontation with Israel is a partial function of Qatari support, as the emirate is the financial underwriter for the militant group's policies and hosts several of its top leaders. Just today, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said in a Doha press conference — carried in its entirety on Qatari-funded Al Jazeera's Arabic channel — that Egypt would have to open the Rafah border crossing as a condition for his group would agree to a ceasefire. It's a request that Egypt is unlikely to agree to, especially given an earlier Hamas demand that the border crossing effectively be taken out of Egyptian control, and placed under the purview of "friendly Arab governments."

Qatar is arguably a counter-productive actor in the context of the biggest Israeli-Palestinian crisis since the Second Intifada of a decade ago. And it's a major purchaser of U.S. arms, a country that's been able to maintain favor with the U.S.

David Weinberg, a scholar who also studies the Gulf states at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Business Insider by email that Congress hasn't been concerned enough with Qatar's policies to put a hold on weapons sales, and confirmed the Obama administration's recent nominee as ambassador to Doha without controversy.

"I t's not clear whether Congress has the stomach for a fight over these issues with an ostensible ally when so much seems to be going wrong elsewhere in the Middle East and when the administration seems to be vouching for Qatari conduct," wrote Weinberg by email last week, when the Hamas-Israel escalation was at a far different stage.

At this point, nearly 700 Palestinians and 34 Israelis have been killed in the conflict. Hamas has achieved battlefield objectives — like the successful targeting of Israel's international airport, and deadly attacks inside Israeli territory — that dictate against an immediate resolution.

And as the situation gets worse, it's possible that American lawmakers, some of whom are already wary of Qatari influence in the region, could start thinking about holding them accountable.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has called for "an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire" in the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.

The council adopted the presidential statement at an emergency meeting just after midnight on Monday as Muslims started celebrating the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The call for a cease-fire follows new attacks launched by Israel and Hamas despite going back and forth over proposals for another temporary halt to nearly three weeks of fighting.

The statement agreed to by all 15 council members urges Israel and Hamas "to accept and fully implement the humanitarian cease-fire into the Eid period and beyond."

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Officials in rebellion-wracked eastern Ukraine say at least eight civilians have been killed by fighting and shelling in two cities held by separatist militants.

Authorities in Luhansk said Monday that five people were killed and 15 injured by overnight artillery strikes. Three were killed in Donetsk as a result of clashes, the city's government said.

Territory between the cities has seen intensified fighting as government troops try to gain control over the area where a Malaysia Airlines plane was downed earlier this month.

Both sides in the conflict have traded accusations over the mounting civilian death toll.

Rebels accuse government troops of deploying artillery against residential areas. Authorities deny that charge, but also complain of insurgents using apartment blocks as firing positions.

Fighting intensifies near MH17 crash location

Ukrainian forces mount an onslaught against separatists in an attempt to gain control over the disaster area.
Forensic experts wait

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Benjamin Netanyahu slams Hamas for violating cease-fire

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Every Palestinian civilian's death costs Israel in its fight for world opinion, but the Jewish state must not cede its security for the sake of public relations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said as he pressed his nation's case on America's Sunday news programs.

In a phone call later Sunday, President Barack Obama told Netanyahu the United States is growing more concerned about the rising Palestinian death toll and the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza. The White House said Obama reiterated that Israel has a right to defend itself and condemned Hamas rocket attacks that have killed Israelis, but pushed for an immediate cease-fire.

Making his case to an American audience, Netanyahu said Palestinians are trying to shape global opinion with images of piled-up, slain civilians.

"We're telling the civilians to leave, Hamas is telling them to stay," Netanyahu said in satellite interviews from Israel. "Why is it telling them to stay? Because it wants to pile up their own dead bodies."

He added, "They not only want to kill our people, they want to sacrifice their own people."

A Palestinian official countered that Israel's actions are unjustified.

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An Israeli armoured personnel carrier (APC) drives back into Israel after crossing the border with t …

"The Israeli aggression on Gaza does not bring peace to Israel," said Mohammad Shtayyeh, minister of the Palestinian Economic Council for Research and Development.

The 20-day war has killed more than 1,030 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has lost more than 40 soldiers, while two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker in Israel were killed by rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza.

The White House said Obama told Netanyahu that the United States is committed to Israel's security, but civilians must be protected and Gaza's humanitarian crisis must be addressed. Obama said a sustainable cease-fire must be negotiated to allow Palestinian civilians in Gaza to return to normal lives.

Netanyahu said his nation's efforts to secure itself will not yield despite growing concern about deaths at the hands of Israeli forces. He insisted Israel is not targeting civilians but showed little willingness to ease its military actions against the Islamic militant group Hamas.

"Hamas is a terror organization that is committed to our destruction," Netanyahu said.

Hamas on Sunday said it would observe a 24-hour truce even as Palestinian militants fired rockets deep into Israel, prompting it to resume an offensive aimed at destroying rocket launchers and cross-border attack tunnels used by the anti-Israel bloc.

"Israel is not obliged and is not going to let a terrorist organization determine when it's convenient for them to fire at our cities, at our people," Netanyahu said.

Palestinians said Israeli aggression has consequences.

"Israel has to accommodate the Palestinian demands and aspirations for ending occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state," Shtayyeh said. "This is the only answer."

Netanyahu spoke to NBC's "Meet the Press," ''Fox News Sunday" and CBS' "Face the Nation." Shtayyeh and Netanyahu appeared on CNN's "State of the Union."

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'They want to sacrifice their own people'

Israel's prime minister says Palestinians are shaping global opinion with images of piled-up, slain civilians.
Phone call with Obama