Call for boycott of Qatari-owned London hotels

A counter-extremism group has called for the “full boycott” of Qatari-owned hotels such as the Ritz and the Connaught in London due to the country's links to Hamas.

Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a non-profit international policy organisation, said: “It is untenable that the Qatari government should continue to profit from its business interests around the world while funds are re-patriated and used to support the perpetrators of mass murder.”

The proposed boycott, put forward by CEP chief executive officer Mark Wallace, former US ambassador to the UN, and CEP president Frances Townsend, encompasses the Savoy, the Ritz, the Connaught and the Churchill hotel, all of which are based in London.

According to The Times, the Savoy is part-owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, the Ritz was bought by a Qatari businessman who is the brother-in-law of Qatar’s rulers in 2020, and the Connaught is owned by Hamad bin Jassim, who was Qatar’s prime minister when Hamas relocated to Doha.

CEP claimed “Qatar’s role in the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas in Israel is indisputable”. It stated that Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the group, “who planned and celebrated the Israeli massacre from his office in Doha, is provided with five-star accommodation in Qatar”.

The organisation has also campaigned against Iranian nuclear armament.