Israeli diplomat says US-Israel ‘united’ after Qatar strike
Despite criticism from the Trump administration that Israel’s strike on Qatar was ill-advised, Israel’s ambassador to the US maintains that the two countries remain “united”.
“We’ve never had a better friend than the White House than President Trump, and we’re united in the effort of eliminating Hamas as being a threat to peace in the Middle East,” Yechiel Leiter said during an interview on Fox News.
“We have acted together in the past. We’ll act together in the future,” he said.
Leiter also struck a defiant tone, saying Israel will continue to target Hamas wherever they are located in the world. Netanyahu, he said, had “put them on notice”.
Despite Trump’s promise that Israel would not conduct another attack on Qatari soil, Leiter appeared to suggest such a strike remained on the table.
“If we didn’t get them this time, we’ll get them the next time,” he said.
Israel’s attack on Qatar marks ‘a turning point’ for the Middle East
Israel’s actions show there are no red lines. And secondly, it shows itself as a country that is attacking and imposing itself as a bully, everywhere.
I mean, no one can stand up to Israel.
This is the issue. And when you go back to the Americans and complain, for example, that the Israelis are crossing the red lines, and the only thing the Americans have is a promise that this is not going to be repeated… But it is being repeated. Once, twice and thrice.
We are seeing what’s happening in Syria. When the Assad regime fell, there was another government that was established, which was not posing any threats to Israel.
However, Israel is attacking Syria on a daily basis.
And what happened in Qatar, too.
I think it’s a turning point in this whole timeline. This is a new doctrine on Israel’s part. This is a new situation.
It’s more related to what Netanyahu spoke about, rise and kill first. Just go anywhere, kill your enemies, even if it’s just for intention – judging others for intention. And this is what they’re doing right now.
‘US security guarantees are no longer as valuable’
Israel’s attack on Qatar came despite the Gulf state hosting the largest US base in the Middle East, and it is adding to the view that Washington is no longer reliable as a security ally.
Cinzia Bianco, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera that Israel’s previous attacks on the region meant the Qataris knew they were not off limits.
“But obviously no one anticipated a direct attack, and just the defiance and unhinged recklessness of it surprised, I would say, everyone,” she said.
Bianco added that regional states needed to come together to push back against Israel.
“Hosting US bases and US military forces was an effective form of deterrence, [but that has] now evaporated,” she said. “The GCC response may be a realization that the US security guarantees are no longer as valuable as they have been thought to be for so long.”
“No one is actually safe, and nothing is really off the table,” Bianco said. “So, of course, it has implications also for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and so on and so forth.”
Trump administration ‘trying to have its cake and eat it too’ over Doha strike
The US government’s credibility has been weakened by its response to one of its key allies, Israel, attacking another, says Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Middle East programme at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
“The Trump administration is trying to have its cake and eat it too,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to statements by the White House that bombing Qatar did not advance US or Israeli objectives, but that eliminating Hamas was a “worthy goal”.
“I don’t see how this is possibly beneficial for peace negotiations or any kind of ceasefire,” said Weinstein. “The very place where these negotiations were taking place has been targeted.”
Israel’s air strikes diminished US credibility in Qatar and would lead Gulf countries to question what security guarantees Washington could provide.
