Failure of assassination attempt ‘would not absolve Israel’ of responsibility
Liqaa Maki, a scholar at the Al Jazeera Media Institute, says the hypothetical survival of the Hamas delegation “would not absolve Israel” of the responsibility for the attack in Doha.
“Regardless of the results, the aggression happened, and Israel has proven that it is a country with no inhibition that does not respect international law or global peace and security. It is a threat to security and peace in the world and thus it must be held accountable,” Maki said.
“Israel has crossed all red lines.”
Israel engaging in ‘gangster’ behaviour
Here we have again a situation where a proposal is handed over, where Hamas has said it accepts it in principle and is ready to discuss it – and then is bombed.
This is gangster behaviour. This is Mafia behaviour. This is not a state that is involved in diplomacy and negotiations. That’s not how they behave.
I don’t think, analytically speaking, that Israel would carry out any such attack without an American green light. If America indeed did not give a green light, we should be hearing a condemnation coming any minute. The Americans should not procrastinate. The Trump administration needs to condemn this behaviour by its client, Israel, while negotiations are going on, while the Trump proposal is being discussed.
Any less than public condemnation of this kind of mafiosi-type behaviour would not be acceptable from the likes of the United States and certainly not from Western Europe, certainly not from Europe in general, and clearly, there has to be an immediate condemnation from all of the Arab world.
Israel ‘detached from international reality’ in its military actions
Yossi Mekelberg, senior consulting fellow with think tank Chatham House, tells Al Jazeera that Israel’s strikes on Doha signal a complete lack of respect for international law or the sovereignty of other countries.
“There’s a domestic, internal conversation, which is completely detached from the realities outside Israel, in which everything is permissible”, he told us from London.
“And I must admit, when I heard this news, I was gobsmacked by the very idea that the country was attacked, Qatar, is the one that’s negotiating a ceasefire”, he continued.
He added that Netanyahu’s continued pronouncements of the high importance of bringing home the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza are not believable, because actions such as this attack undermine the possibility of a ceasefire settlement being reached.
‘Many feel terrorised’: Panic in Doha after Israeli strikes
William Lafi Youmans, a Qatar-based Palestinian American academic, says many Doha residents feel “terrorised” after the Israeli strikes.
“I was driving home after work and saw smoke rising from near the road. Police cars and fire trucks zipped past. I assumed it was a fire but then saw frantic messages and got calls about there being an Israeli attack. When I got home, my family told me they heard the loud explosions. Only then did I feel the fear,” Youmans told Al Jazeera.
“Friends close to the strike zone said their building shook and they ran out to find out what happened. A student emailed me about their home being next to the strike site. There has been tension in the air and many feel terrorised.”
Youmans added that his thoughts went to Palestinians suffering under much heavier bombardment in Gaza.
“I’m struck by how much these strikes have sent everyone into a panic, and yet it’s only minuscule compared to what Palestinians in Gaza have suffered every hour for two years,” he said.
