Doha: Qatars prime minister urged the international community on Sunday to reject double standards and hold Israel accountable after an unprecedented strike on Hamas members in Doha. The attack, condemned even by President Donald Trump, prompted an emergency summit, though Washington sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Israel in support.
According to France24.com, the deadly attack — carried out by one US ally on the territory of another — sparked a wave of criticism, including a rebuke from President Donald Trump, who nonetheless dispatched Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Israel in a show of support. Mondays emergency gathering of Arab and Islamic leaders will serve as a pointed show of unity among Gulf countries and seek to pile more pressure on Israel, which is already facing mounting calls to bring an end to the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas arrived in Doha on Sunday. It remains to be seen whether Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabias de facto ruler, will attend the gathering, though he visited Qatar earlier this week in a show of neighbourly solidarity.
According to Qatars foreign ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, Mondays meeting will consider “a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar”. Elham Fakhro, a fellow of Harvards Middle East Initiative, said she expected Gulf states to “use the summit to call on Washington to rein in Israel”. “They will also seek stronger US security guarantees, on the basis that Israels actions expose the inadequacy of current assurances and have undermined US credibility as a security partner,” she added.
Middle East lecturer Karim Bitar, of Pariss Sciences Po University, called the gathering a “litmus test” for Arab and Muslim leaders, saying many of their constituents were “sick and tired of the old-style communiques”. “What they are expecting today is that these countries… send a very important signal not only to Israel but also to the United States that time has come for the international community to stop giving this blank check to Israel,” he said.
Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the region, and plays a key mediation role in the Israel-Hamas war, alongside the United States and Egypt. Sheikh Mohammed had dinner on Friday with President Trump while visiting the United States. Hamas politburo member Bassem Naim said the militant movement, whose October 2023 attack on Israel sparked the Gaza war, hoped the summit would produce “a decisive and unified Arab-Islamic position”, as well as “clear and specific measures” on Israel and the war.