Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman that Israel will not carry out attacks on the Gulf state again, despite previously vowing to pursue Hamas “wherever they are”.
In a three-way phone call that included US President Donald Trump, the Israeli leader expressed regret for a strike on Doha this month that killed five Hamas officials and a Qatari security officer, the White House said. The US said Mr Netanyahu made a commitment that Israel will refrain from launching such an attack again.
“During the call, the Israeli Prime Minister apologised for the attack on Doha and on Qatar's sovereignty,” Qatar's state news agency reported.
Mr Netanyahu said “Israel was targeting terrorists – it wasn't targeting Qatar and, of course, we regretted the loss of the Qatari citizen”. A statement from Israel's Foreign Ministry quoted Mr Netanyahu as saying: “I also want to assure you that Israel has no plan to violate your sovereignty again in the future, and I have made that commitment to the President.”
Israel launched an air strike on a building in the Qatari capital on September 9, saying it was targeting Hamas leaders inside. The attack caused outrage across the region and apparent unease from Mr Trump, who has since sought to offer reassurances to Qatar, a US ally and host of the region's largest American airbase.
Arab leaders have condemned the strike and vowed to respond, but there have been few concrete measures after an emergency summit was convened to discuss the issue.
In Israel, there was broad praise for the strike among far-right politicians, who form a bloc in the Knesset that is vital to Mr Netanyahu’s political survival and who are bitterly opposed to ending the Gaza war. Many of them condemned Mr Netanyahu’s apology.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich quoted British wartime prime minister Winston Churchill and called the “grovelling apology” a “disgrace”.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded by calling the attack in Doha an “important, just and profoundly moral strike” and said Qatar was an “enemy state”.
“It is time to tell the world the truth: Qatar is a state that supports terror, funds terror, and incites terror. No amount of money will wash the terror from its hands,” Mr Ben-Gvir added.
Mr Trump, Sheikh Mohammed and Mr Netanyahu also agreed to “establish a trilateral mechanism to enhance co-ordination, improve communication, resolve mutual grievances and strengthen collective efforts to prevent threats”, the White House said.
They discussed Mr Trump's latest proposal for ending the war in Gaza, the prospects for a more secure Middle East “and the need for greater understanding between their countries”.
