Al-Nusra fully funded by Qatar, says American journalist

CAIRO – American journalist Theo Padnos said Thursday that al-Nusra Front is completely being funded by Qatar.

Qatar, he said, also finances a large number of other terrorist groups.

He added at a seminar on the financing of terrorist organizations in French capital Paris that Qatar wanted to normalize its relations with Israel with the aim of strengthening its relations with al-Nusra.

Padons said when he was taken hostage by al-Nusra, he was tortured for seven months.

"I was maltreated and could not wash or change my clothes for seven months," Padons said.

He said Qatar used to send al-Nusra leadership a list of the hostages it wanted to release.

It also sent money to the organization, he added, through the Israeli border with Syria.

"Inside of my cell, I always heard al-Nusra elements torturing hostages at Qatari orders," Padons said.

He said Qatari money divided the members of the terrorist organization.

He said Doha sent huge amounts of money to al-Nusra leadership every month to release hostages who were transferred to Qatar through Israel in closed containers.

Some of the al-Nusra emirs took the Qatari funds for themselves, which created conflicts within the organization, Padons said.

The seminar is organized by the Center for Middle East Studies. It is held simultaneously with an international conference in the French capital on the financing of terrorism.

French President Emmanuel Macron attends the international conference, along with a large number of terrorism experts and government representatives.