Israel’s attack in Doha sends message to the region
Former Israeli government adviser Daniel Levy says Israel’s attack against a Hamas delegation in Qatar sends a message not just to the Palestinian group, but to the region.
“Either get on board with our project of regional hegemony, which includes the displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, or we dare you because we have America on our side and we are unassailable militarily,” Levy said.
Qatar is expected to convene an emergency Arab-Islamic summit to discuss Israel’s attack in Doha, state news agency QNA reported.
Levy said Qatar’s regional allies attending the meeting on Sunday “have significant capacity to deter Israel”. “[Whether they] will use that is the question on the table right now,” he said.
Hamas says attack on Doha targeted negotiators, calls it assault on peace efforts
Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum has issued a televised statement on Israel’s attack on Qatar’s capital, Doha.
Here are some of his main points:
- Barhoum said the Israeli attempt to assassinate Hamas’s negotiating delegation in Doha and continued threats to target the movement’s leadership abroad show Israel’s “failure to achieve its goals” after 23 months of war on Gaza.
- He said the assassination attempt occurred while the delegation was discussing a ceasefire proposal.
- He added that the bombing targeted the home of the head of the negotiating delegation, wounding his wife, the wife of his slain son, Hammam al-Hayya, and his grandchildren.
- The “crime”, he said, was an attack on the entire negotiation process.
- Barhoum said the Israeli strike was not just an attack on Qatar’s sovereignty and security, but “a declaration of open war on all Arab and Islamic nations” and a threat to the stability of the entire region.
- He also warned that Israel’s actions endanger regional and global security and called on world leaders to hold Israel accountable for its crimes.
US should ‘work with regional leaders’ to ensure Israel is held accountable
Salman Shaikh, a former UN official and the founder of The Shaikh Group, says the relationship between Qatar and the US “will endure” because it is needed for the sake of regional security.
“We all know that Qatar has played a critical role” in mediating ceasefire talks not just between Israel and Hamas but in other conflicts as well, Shaikh told Al Jazeera.
Trump “has to work with regional leaders”, Shaikh said. “I think he’ll hear a very loud, clear and coordinated message the likes we haven’t seen before.”
Shaikh said Trump needs to realise that Israel “has never been serious about negotiating peace”.
If the US doesn’t push Israel to engage in serious peace talks, then the US will be in an “endless war”.
