► Wen Observer Network Ruan Jiaqi

On September 9, local time, Israel launched a ¡°precise strike¡± against senior Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar¡¯s capital, killing six people, including a member of Qatar¡¯s security forces. Qatar¡¯s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed has denounced the attack as ¡°national terrorism.¡±

United Nations Security Council condemns airstrikes in Qatar (images from the network, unrelated to text)

According to Reuters and BBC reports on Thursday, the United Nations Security Council issued a press statement condemning the airstrikes on Qatar, stressing its support for Qatar's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The statement, drafted by the United Kingdom and France, reiterated that members of the Security Council reaffirmed their support for Qatar¡¯s continued key role in the conflict in the mediated region and urged all parties to seize peaceful opportunities, ¡°underlining the importance of mitigating the situation and expressing solidarity with Qatar.¡±

It is noteworthy that the statement was unanimously approved by 15 members of the Security Council, including the United States, but the statement did not refer directly to Israel.

Reuters noted that the United States has traditionally asylumed its ally Israel at the United Nations and has consistently vetoed draft resolutions that condemn Israel or adversely affect Israel.This rare consent to the statement reflects U.S. President Trump's dissatisfaction with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's order to launch attacks in the territory of U.S. ally Qatar.

Trump has previously criticized the Israeli attacks, writing on social media that Israel¡¯s unilateral attacks in Qatar ¡°do not contribute to the achievement of Israeli or American goals¡± and that he is ¡°very dissatisfied¡± with the developments.

However, he added that ¡°this unfortunate event may be an opportunity to peace¡± and called the eradication of Hamas a ¡°valuable goal.¡±

Hamas can be destroyed, but not in Qatar.

The Israeli attack has exacerbated tensions in the Middle East and put the United States in a discomforting position on its relationship with Qatar.

On Friday (12th) local time, Trump held a banquet in New York to receive Qatar¡¯s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Alessani with U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East Steven Witkov.

The Trump speech.

The White House confirmed that the dinner was held, but did not disclose any details. Qatar¡¯s Deputy Head of Mission to the United States, Hamah Al-Muftah, said: ¡°We just finished the dinner with the President of the United States and the process was very pleasant.¡±

Earlier, Qatar's prime minister held an hour-long meeting with U.S. Vice President Wences and Secretary of State Rubio at the White House on Friday.

A source familiar with the meeting said they discussed the future of Qatar as a regional mediator, as well as defense cooperation with Qatar after the Israeli attack on Doha.

The New York Times that Qatar played a key role in diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza and served as a mediator in indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on the Middle East at the request of Qatar, Algeria, Pakistan and Somalia.

¡°This attack is a test for the international community,¡± Mohammed said at the conference, ¡°Israel¡¯s conduct has gone beyond any boundaries and limitations under the leadership of roaring extremists.We can¡¯t predict what Israel will do.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ashim Eftikhal Ahmed, said: "It is clear that the occupying state of Israel is determined to do everything possible to destroy and stifle all possibilities for peace."

Meanwhile, Algeria¡¯s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amal Benjamah, said the Security Council remained in a ¡°limited¡± state because it ¡°cannot even state the name of the aggressor or qualify the aggression as an act of violation of international law.¡±

Israeli Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Danny Daunon, defended the attack, insisting that ¡°the information transmitted by this attack should resonate in this conference hall. Terrorists have nowhere to hide, whether in Gaza, Tehran or Doha.¡±

The BBC also noted that the chain response to the attack could be far beyond the U.S. relationship. Other Arab leaders have blamed the attack and questioned the value of U.S. security commitments. Trump has been pushing more Arab countries to sign the Abraham Agreement to restore relations with Israel and seek a ceasefire in Gaza, where the Doha events could weaken those efforts.

The UAE joined the Abraham Agreement in 2020, establishing relations with Israel, and the two sides have already developed concrete cooperation in the fields of technology, security and trade.

On Friday, UAE Secretary of State for International Cooperation Rem Khashimi summoned Israel¡¯s Deputy Ambassador to the UAE, David Ohad Hosandi, to strongly condemn Israel¡¯s attacks on Qatar and the hostile remarks made by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The Israeli aggression is a flagrant violation of Qatar¡¯s sovereignty, a serious violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, an irresponsible escalation and a threat to regional and international peace and security.

She reiterated that Qatar¡¯s security and stability are an integral part of the Gulf Cooperation Council¡¯s national security and stability, and stressed that any aggression against that member state is an attack on the Gulf¡¯s collective security framework.

In addition, Khashoggi stressed that such hostile and provocative remarks undermine the prospect of stability, push the region into an extremely dangerous situation and exacerbate tensions.

Extended reading

Media: Israeli air strikes ¡°not surprising¡± but bombing Qatar is different

Since the outbreak of a new round of massive conflict on 7 October 2023, Israel has used its dominant air force to launch airstrikes on the Palestinian Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Yemen. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has vowed repeatedly to "change the face of the Middle East" and on 9 September, Israel's attacks on Qatar's capital Doha sparked a wave of shock in the Middle East.

According to Xinhua news agency, the Israeli Defense Army and the National Security Administration (SIMBET) issued a joint statement saying that Israel launched a precise strike on the senior leaders of Hamas in Qatar on the 9th.

Qatar is one of the most important allies of the United States in the Middle East, with the country¡¯s Udead Air Base being not only the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, but also the home of the U.S. Central Command¡¯s Advance Command. At the same time, Qatar has long supported U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, committed to promoting indirect negotiations between the Israel-Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Several media outlets have pointed out that the Israeli airstrikes on Qatar have severely impacted the long-standing national security policies of Arab monarchs in the Gulf region.Since the end of World War II, the Gulf Arab nations have regarded the United States as the foundation of their security safeguards.They are not only the main importer of American weapons, but have also significantly expanded their investment in the United States in recent years.

According to the Financial Times, Arab monarchs in the Gulf believe that they can use their economic and political influence to persuade the United States to restrict Israel¡¯s behavior. ¡°H, Netanyahu tells us through this that Israel feels it has the American shield and protection and can act as it wants, without any red lines,¡± said Michael Wahid Hanner, director of the United States project at the International Crisis think tank based in Belgium.

Even America¡¯s closest ally could not survive.

In May, U.S. President Donald Trump visited Qatar, becoming the first U.S. President to make an official visit to the country. Qatar opened the red carpet for Trump, pledged to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States, and also ¡°donated¡± a luxury Boeing 747 aircraft to the U.S. government as a temporary replacement for Air Force One. Trump praised his ¡°beautiful friendship¡± with Qatar¡¯s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Alassani.

Recently, a new Gaza ceasefire agreement has been put on the table for Hamas political leaders, which has been pushed by Qatar¡¯s mediators, and the U.S. proposed plan is supposed to have been approved by Israel, and as long as Hamas political leaders accept the plan, the devastated Gaza people will have a short breathing opportunity.

As usual, on September 9, local time, these senior Hamas leaders gathered in Doha¡¯s office to discuss how to respond to the latest U.S. proposal. The world is waiting for Hamas¡¯s outcome, including senior U.S. officials at the White House.

It was at this moment that Israel launched the attack. On the afternoon of the 9th local time, explosions revolved in the quiet capital of the Gulf nation and black smoke hit the sky. More than a dozen Israeli fighters fired more than a dozen rockets at the houses gathered by Hamas political leaders, targeting Hamas¡¯s main political leader, Khalil Haja.

¡°No one expected this to happen, and it¡¯s absolutely shocking.¡± ¨C Professor Mehran Kamrawa of the University of Georgetown in Doha was teaching students at the time of the missile attack, he told the Financial Times, ¡°Israel is carrying out attacks with total relentlessness, not only in Gaza, but elsewhere.¡±

Qatar¡¯s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Alessani said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that Israel¡¯s attacks on Hamas leadership in Doha showed that Netanyahu ¡°tried to undermine any opportunity for stability and peace.¡±

Attacks on Qatar

Key mediators in the Middle East

The Israeli airstrikes not only disrupted the process of ceasefire negotiations in Gaza, but also undermined Qatar¡¯s long-standing efforts as a key mediator in the Middle East.

Since the 1990s, Qatar has begun to play itself as a center of gathering and exchanging people.The Qatar Economic Forum and the Doha Debate are the country¡¯s carefully designed annual events, well known as the ¡°Dawas Forum¡± in the Gulf region. Alessani defined Qatar in an interview in 2021 as ¡°a provider of energy and a promoter of peace¡±.The 2003 Constitution of Qatar clearly states that its foreign policy principles are ¡°based on strengthening international peace and security by encouraging peaceful resolution of international disputes¡±.

As of July this year, Qatar has been actively pursuing 10 mediation processes.On June 28, Congo (Kim) and Rwanda signed a peace treaty in Washington, DC, which is the result of Qatar's mediation. Qatar has also served as an intermediary in the U.S.-Venezuela negotiations, coordinating the issues related to the exchange of prisoners and deportation of migrants.

Qatar¡¯s Secretary of State and Chief Mediator Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Khulefi told The Guardian: ¡°When there is a conflict or a crisis, you will see us.¡±

Qatar¡¯s efforts for mediation have also been potentially rewarded: gaining recognition and trust from all sides, thus expanding the country¡¯s international influence and network of relations.

Sunsom Milton, senior researcher at the Center for Catalan Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, noted that Qatar mediators will play different roles at different times: ¡°The first role is mediator: using Qatar¡¯s ability to communicate with all parties to pass on information between the opposing parties. The second role is persuader: persuading people to go together and eventually reach an agreement. The third role is coordinator: that is, receiving all parties and providing other services.¡±

Sources familiar with the mediation process revealed that the Qatari mediators possessed a high level of mediation and verbal skills, and were able to mitigate the provocative language and unreasonable demands of both sides to the maximum extent possible, thereby resolving the contradictions between the two sides in the negotiations.

Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Qatar¡¯s role as a mediator has risen further.

Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed Image: Foreign Media

Promoting negotiations on the Israeli issue ¡°burning¡±

Unlike another country in the Gulf region, Oman, Qatar does not play a ¡°absolutely neutral¡± role.

Qatar has longined close ties with the United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Hamas, and initially used this strategy as an initiative to maintain its own security.

In 1961, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf Karadawi, was exiled to Qatar and then established close ties with the royal family of Qatar. Qatar was a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine, the main sponsor of Hamas, and after Hamas took power in the Gaza Strip in 2006, Qatar's financial assistance became the main source of financial support for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip government. According to the agreement reached between Qatar and Israel at the time, the aid was transferred to Hamas by the Israeli government.

After the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Hamas opened an office in Doha in 2012 and the office of the group¡¯s main political leaders moved from Damascus to Doha.

On the outside, Qatar's formal acceptance of Hamas is no different than promoting "Islamic extremism" and "extreme anti-Israel agenda", but according to Qatar's side, Hamas' opening an office in Doha was at the request of the United States, because the United States wants to establish a communication channel with Hamas.

According to Palestinian historian Azam Tamimi, Qatar has an ¡°extra sympathy¡± for the Palestinians and the Palestinian cause; however, this sympathy did not hinder Qatar¡¯s contacts with Israel.

Israeli political activist Gershine Baskin told The Guardian that he had ¡°doubts¡± about the mediation of the Qatarians when he participated in the negotiations in October 2024, but found them ¡°serious¡± and ¡°honest¡± in their efforts to peace after the contact.

However, it is not easy to assume this ¡°more complex¡± role. As a mediator, Qatar¡¯s actual role in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations remains limited. Qatar cannot put pressure on the negotiating parties nor force any party to accept an agreement they are unwilling to accept until Israel launched an airstrike on the Hamas political leaders meeting in Doha on 9th.

The missiles crushed not only the houses of Hamas political leaders in Doha, but also the Gulf Arab states¡¯ belief in national security.Hannah noted that the Israeli attacks showed that the U.S. as the security guarantor of the Gulf Arab countries has limited security guarantees to these countries.