Palestinian officials yesterday said Hamas is receiving millions of dollars from the Gulf state of Qatar, some of which they suspect is used to purchase weapons...

...Palestinian Authority officials, however, said that oil-rich Qatar has been such a staunch supporter and promoter of Hamas -- both financially and politically -- that it is in a unique position to influence the Hamas leadership.

"Qatar gives Hamas millions of dollars a month [on average]," a senior aide to Mr. Abbas told The Washington Times on the sidelines of the Rice-Abbas meetings in the West Bank city of Ramallah. "They say the money is for the people of Gaza, but Hamas steals it, and some of it may be used to buy weapons."

In fact, the aide noted, Qatar has much more money to spare than Syria and Iran, both of which are also strong backers of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

A second Palestinian official said that Qatar has not been shy in declaring its political support for Hamas and that it regularly hosts the group's leaders in the capital, Doha. Qatar also has offered repeatedly to broker a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, this official said...