Qatar’s Amir accused Israel of trying to derail Gaza ceasefire efforts with its attack on Hamas in Doha, as Arab and Muslim leaders held emergency talks yesterday to discuss a unified response.
The joint Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Co-operation summit was called by Qatar to pile pressure on Israel, which has been facing mounting calls to end the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Hamas says top officials survived last week’s air strike in Doha, which killed six people and triggered a wave of criticism from global nations.
Qatar has been a key mediator in talks to end the war in Gaza – alongside Egypt and the United States – and the Israeli strike came as Hamas officials were discussing a new US proposal.
“Whoever works diligently and systematically to assassinate the party with whom he is negotiating, intends to thwart the negotiations,” Qatari Amir Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in his opening remarks.
“Negotiations, for them, are merely part of the war.”
The Amir also said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “dreams of turning the Arab region into an Israeli sphere of influence, and this is a dangerous illusion”.
Shaikh Tamim said it was clear that Israel was aware of the meeting of Hamas leaders in Doha. He questioned why Israel attacked the people they were in negotiations with. Israel has threatened to carry out more attacks.
“If Israel wishes to assassinate leaders, why engage in negotiations?,” Shaikh Tamim asked. “If you wish to insist on liberation of hostages, why assassinate all negotiators? How can we host in our country negotiating delegations from Israel when they send drones and planes for an air raid in our country?”
He accused Israel of waging what he described as a war aimed at destroying Gaza, which has been under unrelenting Israeli bombardment for the past 23 months.
“The Israeli war on Gaza has turned into a war of extermination,” he said. “Israel wants to make Gaza uninhabitable as a prelude to displacing its population.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi warned its attack in Qatar “places obstacles in the way of any opportunities for new peace agreements and even aborts the existing peace agreements with countries in the region.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Jordan’s King Abdullah were also present at the summit.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were among other leaders attending the summit.
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