Majed al-Ansari, the Spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, has asserted that Israel’s assault on Qatar’s capital, Doha conveys a message.
Speaking to a news agency, he said that Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has sent “a very clear message” to any country that engages in peace efforts, even those that help Israel when captives are taken, that “mediators will be scapegoated, will not be safe, and there will be no respect for the sanctity of their job.”
He went on to describe Israel’s attacks as not only an infringement on Qatar’s sovereignty, but also an attack on international norms and humanitarian law that have underpinned the post-World War II order. “But, obviously, this will not deter Qatar from being a country that works towards peace,” al-Ansari added.
Al-Ansari stressed that Washington only informed Qatar of the bombing after it took place, but noted that US President, Donald Trump had called the Qatari leader and assured him such an attack would not take place again.
“His Highness [Emir of Qatar] made it very clear that this attack will not go unanswered, and that we will take all legal and diplomatic means in response.”
Majed al-Ansari
He added that Netanyahu has shown “absolutely no respect for his partners and allies – or even his friends and adversaries – at the same time.”
“We want to make it very clear that in our partnership with the US, we do not take it lightly the fact that Israel would attack… like this, and we are working with the US to make sure these kinds of incursions never happen again.”
Majed al-Ansari
Qatar is a major non-NATO ally of the US and hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East.
Al-Ansari ‘s remarks came after the Trump administration said that it notified Qatari officials before Israel’s attack on Hamas negotiators in Doha, a claim refuted by the Gulf country.
White House Spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, “which, very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar.”
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals. However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
Karoline Leavitt
Leavitt added that Trump had directed his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to “inform the Qataris of the impending attack.”
However, Qatar refuted the characterisation, with a Spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying claims that the government had been “pre-informed of the attack are completely false.”
Majed al-Ansari wrote in a statement on X, “The call that was received from an American official came during the sound of the explosions that resulted from the Israeli attack in Doha.”
Qatar’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the call from the US came ten minutes after the attack began, describing the incident as “state terrorism.”
US Credibility Weakened By Response To Israel’s Attack On Qatar
Adam Weinstein, Deputy Director of the Middle East programme at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, opined that the US government’s credibility has been weakened by its response to one of its key allies, Israel, attacking another.
He told a news agency that the Trump administration “is trying to have its cake and eat it too,” referring to statements by the White House that bombing Qatar did not advance US or Israeli objectives, but that eliminating Hamas was a “worthy goal.”
“I don’t see how this is possibly beneficial for peace negotiations or any kind of ceasefire. The very place where these negotiations were taking place has been targeted.”
Adam Weinstein
Meanwhile, Hamas said that the strike killed five of its members but that its main negotiating team had survived. Among the dead was a Qatari security officer, the country’s Ministry of Interior said.
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