No one in the Middle East feels safe amid an increasing sense that the Israeli government is fuelling region-wide instability, former Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu told The National.
Israel’s strike on a Hamas negotiating team in the heart of the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday broke a new threshold by targeting a close US ally in the Gulf, the former Turkish official said in an interview at his office in western Istanbul.
“Nobody in the region now is safe because they attacked Qatar,” Mr Davutoglu said. “Attacking Qatar means attacking a country having the base of Centcom headquarters,” he added, referring to the US military’s command centre at Qatar’s Al Udeid Airbase.
Mr Davutoglu, 66, played a key role in Turkish foreign and domestic policy for more than two decades. He served as both foreign minister and prime minister under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, before the country’s shift to a presidential system. Mr Davutoglu fell out with Mr Erdogan and resigned as prime minister in 2016, later forming his own political party, the Future Party.
Alongside representatives of Qatar, the US and Egypt, the veteran Turkish politician played a key role in mediating between Hamas and Israel in previous conflicts over the past 20 years. He recalled working with his US and Qatari counterparts to end a six-week conflict in Gaza in 2014, when he was Turkey's foreign minister.
“We met in Paris, first in the American embassy, then in the Turkish Embassy – John Kerry, myself, Khalid Attiyah of Qatar, in a trilateral process,” he said. “We contacted the Egyptian side. And Kerry talked to the Israeli side. I remember, in one night, we had at least five, six telephone calls to each other.”
Israel’s attacks on Qatar and across the region threaten efforts to end more than 23 months of conflict in Gaza, Mr Davutoglu said. The strike on Doha, which killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer, drew widespread condemnation for breaching Qatari sovereignty and jeopardising truce negotiations.
Qatar, working alongside Egypt and the US, has played a key role in attempting to mediate a deal for the release of Israeli hostages and a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
“They were very close to an agreement” for a ceasefire, Mr Davutoglu said. “Hamas accepted many conditions and they [Israel] attacked. They don't want to have peace.”
The Israeli military said its “precision strike” targeted Hamas’s top leaders, although none were confirmed killed. Army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said it would continue to pursue the group "everywhere, at every range, near and far".
Mr Davutoglu said there was a growing sense among countries in the region, including Turkey, that Israel’s actions have spread beyond Palestine to become the main source of instability.
It is not anymore between Israel and Iran, or Israel and the region. It is between Israel and UN principles, and humanity
Ahmet Davutoglu,
former Turkish prime minister and foreign minister
“It is not any more a tension between Israel and Hamas. It is not any more between Israel and Palestine. It is not any more between Israel and Arab countries,” Mr Davutoglu said. “It is not any more between Israel and Iran, or Israel and the region. It is between Israel and UN principles, and humanity.”
Some observers believe Turkey is particularly at risk from spiralling conflict because of its proximity to countries that Israel has struck recently, including its neighbours Syria and Iran.
Observers and politicians in Turkey, including Mr Davutoglu, as well as in Israel, have in recent days raised the spectre of Israeli attacks on Hamas targets in the country.
Israel “claimed that it's a war against Hamas. No, they attacked Gaza, they attacked the West Bank, they attacked Lebanon, they attacked Yemen,” Mr Davutoglu said. “They attacked Syria. They even attacked Iran. Now Qatar. What is next?”
There is long-standing Israeli umbrage at Hamas’s presence in Turkey. The Turkish government does not recognise Hamas as a terrorist organisation and the Palestinian group’s leaders often visit the country. After the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage, Mr Davutoglu expressed support for "the justified resistance of our Palestinian brothers and sisters" in a post on social media.
Once-burgeoning Turkey-Israel relations have nosedived since the attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza. Ankara severed trade and air links with Israel in May last year, although it stopped short of cutting diplomatic ties. Mr Davutoglu thinks that the action taken did not go far enough: he wants all countries in the region that have diplomatic ties with Israel to sever them.
The Turkish politician met Hamas’s former leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul three months before he was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31 last year. The Israeli strikes on Doha would not prevent him continuing to meet the current Hamas leadership, he added.
Turkey’s Nato membership is likely to be a deterrent factor for Israel, experts previously told The National. Under the military alliance’s covenants, an attack on any member should prompt other member states to come to its defence, including by using armed force if necessary.
All the same, Ankara should make the risk it faces clear to its Nato partners, Mr Davutoglu said.
“First, they should see that there is a crisis here. Otherwise, they don't know. Nobody is moving. They are so comfortable in their capitals because they are far away from the Middle East."
He said countries across the region should also step up diplomatic pressure on Mr Netanyahu’s government and its main backer in Washington to rein in Israeli operations.
"The road to Tel Aviv goes through Washington," Mr Davutoglu said.
In an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday, acting US Representative to the United Nations Dorothy Shea said that unilateral bombing inside Qatar “does not advance Israel’s or US goals”. But “eliminating Hamas, which has profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal", she added.
Unless there is a ceasefire, countries that recognise Palestine, including Turkey, should refuse to attend the UN General Assembly in New York this month, Mr Davutoglu said. The boycott would be a protest at the US’s refusal to allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to join the meeting.
Like in 1988, when the Reagan administration denied Palestinian Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat entry to the US, states that recognise Palestine should hold an alternative assembly in the Swiss city of Geneva, he added.
“The Americans must get a signal that the UN is not a strategic apparatus of the US and Israeli partnership,” Mr Davutoglu stressed.
The actions of Mr Netanyahu’s government are isolating Israel from its neighbours, undoing decades of diplomacy that saw delicate peace agreements emerge between the country and other Middle Eastern states, he added.
“This is first a threat to peaceful Israelis as well,” he explained. “Now they are very much isolated from the region.”
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 plus rear-mounted electric motor
Power: 843hp at N/A rpm
Torque: 1470Nm N/A rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.6L/100km
On sale: October to December
Price: From Dh875,000 (estimate)
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20SCE%20Studio%20Cambridge%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sony%20Computer%20Entertainment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%2C%20PlayStation%204%20and%205%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
More from Aya Iskandarani
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dual%20electric%20motors%20with%20102kW%20battery%20pack%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E570hp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20890Nm%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Up%20to%20428km%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh1%2C700%2C000%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 380hp at 5,800rpm
Torque: 530Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Price: From Dh299,000 ($81,415)
On sale: Now
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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