Another Arab “ally” of the United States, Qatar, has been financing the Hamas terrorists to the tune of millions of dollars a month.

JERUSALEM — Palestinian officials yesterday said Hamas is receiving millions of dollars from the Gulf state of Qatar, some of which they suspect is used to purchase weapons. [No! Ya think? – ed.]

The comments were issued as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s peace mission faltered under new Israeli air and ground assaults on the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ rejected her request to resume peace talks. Miss Rice repeatedly demanded during a visit to the region that the militant Islamist Hamas, which rules Gaza, stop launching rockets at Israeli cities.

She declined to name a specific country or person with sufficient sway over the militant group to change its behavior.

Palestinian Authority officials, however, said that oil-rich Qatar has been such a staunch supporter and promoter of Hamas — both financially and politically — that it is in a unique position to influence the Hamas leadership.

“Qatar gives Hamas millions of dollars a month [on average],” a senior aide to Mr. Abbas told The Washington Times on the sidelines of the Rice-Abbas meetings in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “They say the money is for the people of Gaza, but Hamas steals it, and some of it may be used to buy weapons.”