On June 15, the Independent Commission of Inquiry on Syria released a report on the ongoing genocide of Iraqi Yazidis, an ethnically Kurdish religious group, by Islamic State (IS). The same report dismisses the accusation that IS is also bent on exterminating Christians. Nina Shea argues that the Commission—an influential body established by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights—has credulously believed IS denials while ignoring a great deal of contrary evidence:

The report confidently declares that IS unconditionally recognizes Christians’ “right to exist as Christians,” including those within its territory, “as long as they pay the jizya tax” [traditionally demanded of those neither Muslim nor pagan] because, it suggests, the terror group respects Christians (and presumably Jews) as “People of the Book.” Another unsubstantiated and insupportable claim is that there are “Christian communities still living in IS-controlled territory.” The report even denies that the IS attacks against the Christian minority are religious, asserting instead a political motivation for its violence against that minority. . . .

[T]his conclusion is demonstrably false. . . .

In truth, there is a complete absence of intact Christian communities in IS-held territory, which is prima facie evidence that there was no jizya option for the Christians. Testimony and reports from the Christian survivors and their clergy confirm this.

What IS refers to as “jizya” is extortion and ransom from a few disabled or elderly individuals, and others who did not escape in time. Those who did not escape have been killed or forced to become “brides” [i.e., sex-slaves] to jihadists, human shields, slaves, hostages, or Muslims against their will. They are barred from practicing their Christian faith.

IS not only intends to destroy the Christian communities under its control; it has done so, and should be held accountable for the genocide against the Christians as well as for that against the Yazidis.

How did Qatar, an American ally, become the nerve center of the leading Palestinian jihadist organization? Natalie Ecanow explains.

When Jordan expelled Hamas in 1999, Qatar offered sanctuary to the group, which had already become notorious for using suicide-bombing attacks over the previous decade. . . . Hamas chose to relocate to Syria. However, that arrangement lasted for only a decade. With the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the terror group found its way back to Qatar.

In 2003, Hamas leaders reportedly convened in Qatar after the IDF attempted to eliminate Hamas’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, following a Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed seven people, including two American citizens. This episode led to one of the first efforts by Qatar to advocate for its terror proxy.

Thirteen years and five wars between Hamas and Israel later, Qatar’s support for Hamas has not waned. . . . To this day, Qatari officials maintain that the office came at the “request from Washington to establish indirect lines of communication with Hamas.” However, an Obama White House official asserted that there was never any request from Washington. . . . Inexplicably, the United States government continues to rely on Qatar to negotiate for the release of the hostages held by Hamas, even as the regime hosts the terror group’s political elite.

A reckoning is needed between our two countries. Congressional hearings, legislation, executive orders, and other measures to regulate relations between our countries are long overdue.