MisterQuigley: Israel funded and propped up Hamas for decades as a counterweight to the PLO
Evidence
- He states that from the 1970s Israeli officials financed the Muslim-Brotherhood-linked Islamic Resistance Movement that became Hamas, to undercut the PLO, and that the Benjamin Netanyahu government continued direct payments (he claims up to $15M per transaction in cash) into the late 2010s. — Source: MisterQuigley, “No, Israel Does Not Have a Right to Exist” @ ~17:42–19:11 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEHl2zbJhrA
- He cites a former IDF general (name garbled in the transcript) quoted in a major Israeli paper: “Netanyahu’s strategy is to prevent the option of two states, so he is turning Hamas into his closest partner.” — Source: same @ ~18:29
Involves
MisterQuigley · Israel · Hamas · Benjamin Netanyahu
Counter-evidence
The broad claim has real historical grounding (Israel’s early tolerance of Islamist groups vs. the PLO; reporting on Qatari-cash facilitation to Hamas under Netanyahu). But the specific figures ($15M cash transactions) and the exact general/quote/newspaper are garbled in the transcript and should be verified against the original reporting before citing.