Key Takeaways:
- The 17th Al Jazeera Forum, set to take place in Doha, Qatar, lists Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese as confirmed speakers.
- Al Jazeera has previously been exposed for having connections to terrorist organizations, including several cases where Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives were found to be working as journalists for the Qatari-funded outlet.
- By platforming terrorists, senior officials of authoritarian regimes, and a sanctioned UN Special Rapporteur at the same event, Al Jazeera has effectively legitimized extremist actors, further calling into question its claim to be a credible media outlet.
Al Jazeera’s sympathy for and connections to terrorist organizations are not a secret. Throughout the Israel-Hamas war, the IDF has, on numerous occasions, exposed Hamas or Islamic Jihad terrorists working simultaneously for the Qatari-funded outlet.
But the outlet is not only responsible for journalists embedded with terrorist organizations. It’s now using its conference to platform terrorists and their supporters.
The 17th Al Jazeera Forum, being held in Doha, Qatar, is said to examine the issues of “the Palestinian cause” and how the region has shifted since October 7, 2023, including broader changes in the Middle East. As part of the promotion for the conference, the Al Jazeera Forum’s X account posted a promotional video asking, “How is the world living the repercussions of October 7th,” accompanied by a highlight reel of Hamas terrorists on October 7, in Israeli communities, and killing IDF soldiers.
Confirmed speakers include longtime Hamas terrorist leader Khaled Meshaal, who is worth more than $4 billion, and who has previously stated that Hamas will rise “like a phoenix” despite heavy losses following October 7. Presuming he is not stuck in Oman in negotiations with the U.S., Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is listed as a keynote speaker and as a representative of the Islamic Republic, he has effectively stood in support of the killing of thousands of Iranians who have challenged the regime’s rule.
Breaking: I’ve just discovered that next month’s annual Al Jazeera Forum will feature a keynote by Iran’s foreign minister — fresh off his regime slaughtering 43,000 in the streets — alongside Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal.
Let’s take a closer look at this conference, shall we?🧵 pic.twitter.com/fHtRDGhH5r
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) January 26, 2026
Other speakers include representatives from Turkey, Yemen, Sudan, and university professors. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, sanctioned by the U.S. for her pro-terror rhetoric, is also a confirmed speaker in a session discussing “The Palestinian Cause in a World Moving Toward Multipolarity.” While Al Jazeera’s decision to platform her is consistent with the outlet’s posture, it is particularly concerning that a UN figure is speaking at a conference that features terrorists.
The media is calling Francesca Albanese a “critic of Israel,” but she’s not.
She’s an antisemite, a terror apologist, and a fraud.🧵 @unwatch @hillelneuer pic.twitter.com/uwpU2FU2z1— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) July 11, 2025
Since the exposure of designated terrorists speaking at the conference, analyst Eitan Fischberger, who initially exposed the presence of Meshaal and Araghchi, has noted that dozens of other speakers have since been removed from the lineup, perhaps in an attempt to disassociate from sharing a venue with terrorists. But it’s Al Jazeera. What did these people expect when they initially accepted an invitation to speak?
After all, this is not the first time the Al Jazeera Forum has hosted members of terrorist organizations. Last year’s conference platformed Hamas members Osama Hamdan and Basem Naim, as well as former Iranian ambassador Mojtaba Ferdosipour. In 2024, speakers included Wael Dahdouh, whose son was a terrorist operative, and Ismail Abu Omar, a Hamas platoon commander.
Have speakers in previous years received compensation for their attendance? Will the speakers this year, including Hamas terrorists and Iranian regime figures, also be receiving a paycheck? And if so, how can Al Jazeera claim to be a credible mainstream media outlet if it continues to provide such a platform to terrorists and terror-supporters?
Al Jazeera’s editorial standard of supporting terrorism at arm’s length is well established. But the 17th Al Jazeera Forum represents a troubling escalation where one of Hamas’ most prominent leaders and an Iranian regime figure are warmly welcomed. This despite Hamas’ massacre of Jews and Islamic Republic’s massacre of its own people. It points to a dark path where the media legitimizes extremists under the guise of credible discourse.
HonestReporting has reached out to Al Jazeera for a comment.
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