During their meeting at the White House on Monday, President Trump and Prime Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani jointly called the president and prime minister to offer an apology.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
In a statement from the White House, “Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his deep regret that an Israeli missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman.”
He expressed regret and regret that Israel violated Qatar’s sovereignty by attacking Hamas leaders during hostage negotiations. He also reaffirmed that Israel will not launch an attack like this again.
The September 9 attack targeted senior Hamas leaders involved in negotiating a US-backed ceasefire, killing at least five lower-ranking Hamas members and a Qatari security official. The assassination attempt was survived by the top leaders of Hamas.
Apology a “significant” step
Qatar, a key mediator in ceasefire negotiations and host of Al Udeid, the US military’s largest base in the Middle East, was the first Israeli attack against the country.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the call was made “as part of US efforts to address the effects of the Israeli aggression that targeted a residential neighbourhood in Doha city, which included housing for the Hamas negotiating delegation, leading to a flagrant violation of the State of Qatar’s sovereignty.”
The US President’s representative acknowledged the country’s efforts to bring peace to the region, including assurances against recurrence of aggression against the State of Qatar, and the US’s commitment to its defense partnership with Qatar, according to the ministry.
The Israeli Prime Minister apologized for the attack and the violation of Qatari sovereignty that led to Badr Al-Dosari’s martyrdom, and vowed to refrain from further targeting of Qatari territory.
According to Netanyahu’s official X account, he stated in a post to the Qatari prime minister that “Israel regrets that one of your citizens was killed in our strike.” I can assure you that Israel was attacking Hamas, not Qataris.
I have made the president’s assurances that Israel has no intention of violating your sovereignty in the future, and that this assurance is also true.
The prime minister then continued, “Israel has grievances against Qatar, from support for the Muslim Brotherhood to support for anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses.”
Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the UN, criticized the strike as a “flagrant violation” of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Nearly 60 Muslim nations gathered in Doha to show their support for the attacks.
The White House praised Qatar’s prime minister’s assurances, citing the country’s “deep regret” for its “aggression” against Qatar and highlighted Qatar’s continued commitment to regional stability and security. Prime Minister Netanyahu reaffirmed his desire for the same.
Netanyahu’s alleged apology request was “significant,” according to Sultan Barakat, a professor at Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
Qatar has stated repeatedly to Al Jazeera that it will not be able to continue its mediation efforts without a public apology and confirmation from Netanyahu that he won’t try it again.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply