Doha, Qatar – In a strong condemnation of Israel’s recent airstrike on its capital, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has denounced the assault as “state terrorism,” as Arab and Muslim foreign ministers gathered for a preparatory meeting ahead of an emergency summit. The meeting, which began Sunday in Doha, was convened to formulate a coordinated response to the Israeli attack that targeted Hamas leadership and killed six people, including a Qatari security officer.
“We appreciate the solidarity of brotherly Arab and Islamic countries and friendly countries from the international community that condemned this barbaric Israeli attack,” Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that “the moment had come for consequences to Israel’s attacks in the wider Middle East.” He stressed that the strike, which occurred while Qatar was hosting official ceasefire negotiations with Israel’s knowledge, was “an attack on the principle of mediation itself.”
The Israeli strike on September 9 reportedly targeted senior Hamas figures in Doha, killing five members of the militant group and a Qatari security officer. While the top leadership of Hamas survived the attack, the incident has inflamed tensions and threatened to derail ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
A draft resolution to be presented at Monday’s summit, which will be attended by leaders from across the region, warns that Israel’s “brutal attack on Qatar and the continuation of Israel’s hostile acts including genocide, ethnic cleansing, starvation, siege, and colonising activities and expansion policies, threaten prospects of peace and coexistence in the region.” The document suggests these actions threaten “everything that has been achieved on the path of normalising ties with Israel, including current agreements and future ones.” This is a clear warning to Israel that its actions could undermine peace agreements with countries that have normalized relations through the Abraham Accords.
Speaking ahead of the summit, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit also criticized Israel, stating that “silence in the face of a crime…paves the way for more crimes.”
There was no immediate official response from Israel. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the strike in a social media post, writing, “The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza. They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war. Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
