Germany’s main wire service—the German Press Agency (dpa)—is embroiled in a pro-Hamas scandal after hosting Jaber Al-Harmi, editor of the Qatar government-controlled daily Al-Sharq, at the Monday grand opening of its new office in Doha. The implications of the German Press Agency (dpa) and its dpa CEO Peter Kropsch mainstreaming a pro-Hamas Qatari editor and paper could taint the journalistic standards of the wire service.
Al-Harmi praised on X on August 20, 2025, Hamas terrorists from its Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, who were seeking to kidnap IDF soldiers in Khan Younis in Gaza. He wrote that “Even if the Al-Qassam heroes failed to abduct Zionist soldiers this time around, the second, third or fourth attempts, Allah willing, will manage to add new rats to the number [of hostages] held by the heroes of the brigades… In today’s attempt, during a high-quality raid on a new [Israeli] military position in Rafah [sic; the operation took place in Khan Younis], the Al-Qassam heroes managed to send several Zionist soldiers to hell, and good riddance.”
Al-Harmi continued: “[They sent] several others to suffer torment in this world by [causing them] permanent disfigurement and disabilities, or [by sending them] to lunatic asylums. I strengthen the hands of the heroes, and may the hands of the impure criminals, riff-raff from all over the world, become paralyzed.”Al-Harmi can be seen at the DPA event seated near a woman in a black polka-dotted dress.
#فيديو | شاهد جانباً من افتتاح وكالة الأنباء الألمانية مكتب لها في المدينة الإعلامية قطر
#جريدة_الراية #قطر #ألمانيا— الراية القطرية (@alraya_n) November 9, 2026
After the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) posted a translation of Al-Harmi’s support for Hamas terrorism last year, he deleted his pro-Hamas X post.
Qatar expert Dr. Ariel Admoni of Bar-Ilan and Ariel University told Channel 14 that “The Qatari pride at the event over the agency’s joining of Qatar’s ‘media ecosystem’—which comprises more than 550 companies—illustrates just how important it was for the Qatar News Agency and Media City Qatar to promote these collaborations in order to whitewash Qatari media. In any case, it is reasonable to assume that the arrival of the supporter [Al-Harmi] of Hamas’s crimes stemmed from a lack of awareness, due to the sparse coverage of his stance and of other pro-terror positions held by prominent figures in Qatar.”
Admoni, who is also affiliated with the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, added: “Indeed, this is precisely the Qataris’ goal: collaboration with these international media outlets has yielded biased coverage—at times in nuances and terminology, and at times through selective reporting—to the extent that reporting on local events in Doha was precluded for those very outlets stationed there, driven by a Qatari desire to control the narrative.”
2+He continued that “Ultimately, such a reputable media organization [dpa] was expected to investigate this embedded bias, vet the individuals it works with, and refrain from collaborations—such as establishing an office—that compromise the objective professionalism of its coverage while inadvertently enabling the Qataris to continue whitewashing oppressive and terror-supporting regimes that harm the West in general and Germany in particular.”
In October, Prime Minister Netanyahu told Channel 14 that a Qatar state-sponsored [effort] is exploiting bots to create a “disinformation front” against the Jewish state. Channel 14 sent dpa a detailed press query about hosting Al-Harmi, dpa’s decision to set up an office in a nation where press freedoms are non-existent and criticism of the ruling Islamist Al-Thani family is banned, as well as whether the dpa will report critically on Qatar’s role in financing Hamas.
2+Jens Petersen, a spokesman for the dpa, told Channel 14 that the “dpa decides on international locations solely based on editorial considerations and whether there is demand for such coverage. The Gulf region has gained significance in both the political and economic spheres. Our clients’ need for corresponding coverage has increased. As a neutral, private agency represented by our own journalists in over 80 countries, our news format consists exclusively of reporting—we never offer commentary.”
He added that “Our coverage is independent and fact-based. Section 5, Paragraph 2 of our articles of association states: ‘The company fulfills its mission impartially and independently of any influence or pressure from political parties, ideological groups, economic or financial groups, and governments.’ dpa reports on a regular basis about Qatar’s alleged ties to Hamas or other Islamist organizations. The dpa invited numerous media brands from across the country to the opening of its new office space.” Al-Sharq is widely considered to be part of the Qatari state-linked media apparatus that frequently amplifies pro-Hamas messaging.
2+Take the example of Ihsan Al-Faqih, who wrote a column for the daily Al-Sharq in August 2025 that the Hamas campaign to abduct Israeli soldiers, according to a MEMRI translation of her article, “shocked Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his friends on the far right, confounded them, and upended the strategic military considerations of the Israeli leadership.” She claimed that the Hamas kidnapping plan “was the most prominent and forceful operation by the resistance since October 7, [2023], has many powerful meanings and implications,” because it “proved that the resistance is still capable of taking the initiative.”
The German paper Die Welt reported last year that “Qatar is sponsoring Islamist propaganda and courting Western media with a new prestige project. The German Press Agency (dpa) is on board.”Die Welt noted that Qatar’s regime seeks to attract Western media outlets to Doha as an “influence strategy” to whitewash its image as a leading state-sponsor of Islamist terrorist groups and movements.