The clouds of smoke seen rising over Doha following Israel’s strike on the Qatari capital are not just a demonstration of the impunity currently enjoyed by one of the world's most aggressive states, they symbolise Israel’s rejection of talks as a way to end the Gaza war that is gripping the region.
Following the series of explosions on Tuesday afternoon at residential buildings in the Katara area of the city, the Israeli military said it had targeted “these members of the Hamas leadership [that] have led the terrorist organisation’s operations, are directly responsible for the brutal October 7 massacre, and have been orchestrating and managing the war against the State of Israel”.
This begs the question: why did Israeli negotiators – some of them regular visitors to Qatar – then spend month upon month claiming to be in genuine talks with interlocutors including Hamas? When viewed alongside the July 2024 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in an Israeli strike on his Tehran residence as well as the country’s prosecution of the war in Gaza itself, it becomes clear that Israel’s leadership is bent upon bombing its way to victory rather than working pragmatically with regional partners to defuse and de-escalate a volatile situation.
Latest developments
- 'Unhappy' Trump says attack in Qatar was not his decision
- Israel claims it used 'precise munitions', but killed Qatari security agent
- Qatar says it got warning from US only ten minutes after it started
- Target was Hamas's leadership team involved in negotiating Gaza ceasefire deal
- UAE president Sheikh Mohamed expressed 'condemnation of blatant attack'
In the above cases, force was chosen over engagement. At the time of Haniyeh’s death, progress towards a ceasefire in Gaza was being made but his assassination derailed what had been painstaking negotiations to end the conflict. In Gaza itself, Israel secured the release of dozens of Israeli hostages through a November 2023 diplomatic process, but since then it has reverted to brute force to free a relatively small number of captives, often at the cost of many Palestinian civilian lives.
Qatar, still fresh from Iranian air strikes on its territory in June, has now joined a growing list of sovereign Arab countries to have been attacked by Israel. This dangerous and cavalier strike on Doha deserves to be met with a firm and united response. An idea of that response can be found in a statement, made shortly after the Israeli attack, by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, who stressed the country's solidarity with Qatar.
Sheikh Abdullah described the strike as "a flagrant violation of Qatar's sovereignty, a grave breach of international law and the UN Charter, and an irresponsible escalation that threatens regional and international peace and security".
Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed, added his voice to the condemnation. "The security of the Arab Gulf states is indivisible, and we stand heart and soul with the sisterly State of Qatar. May God preserve Qatar, its leadership and people, and may God preserve the Arab Gulf states," Dr Gargash said in a statement on X
Israel has been condemned by Arab countries and the UN for turning its back on negotiations and pushing for violence. This not only undermines efforts to reach a ceasefire or political settlement, but it also reminds Israel’s neighbours – as if any reminder was needed – that the region is dealing with an unpredictable state for whom an attitude of “shoot first, ask questions later” has replaced normal means of diplomacy.
Where the Middle East goes from here is uncertain, but those who consider themselves friends, allies or supporters of Israel have to look at the plumes of smoke rising over the streets of a Gulf capital and ask themselves how this advances the cause of peace.
