The Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, will visit the U.S. on Tuesday to meet President Barack Obama, according to a statement released by the White House on Friday. Their talks will address political, economic, and security issues of mutual concern to the two countries and will cover the wave of terrorism in the region since the rise of the extremist group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria ( ISIS). Qatar is a member of the US-led coalition against ISIS, allowing the U.S. to use its airbases in Qatar to bomb the hotbeds of the organization in Syria and Iraq. The American-Qatari alliance has inspired anger in the U.S.'s main Middle East ally Israel, especially as Obama refused to meet the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, when he visited the States in early March. The prominent Israeli newspaper, Times of Israel, slammed Washington for its alliance with Qatar, which it labeled a "terrorist haven," because it provides a haven for Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. In December, the Obama administration revealed that it had received assurances from Qatar that its aid to Palestinians would exclude Hamas.
