The Emir of Qatar accused Israel of trying to disrupt efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza by attacking Hamas in Doha, while Arab and Muslim leaders on Monday held urgent talks on a unified response.
A joint summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation was convened by Qatar in order to put pressure on Israel, which is facing increasing calls to end the war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Hamas claims that senior officials survived last week’s airstrike in Doha, in which six people were killed and which provoked a wave of criticism, including criticism from the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump.
Qatar was a key mediator in negotiations on ending the war in Gaza – along with Egypt and the U.S. – and the Israeli attack happened while Hamas officials were discussing a new U.S. proposal.
“Whoever works diligently and systematically on killing the side with which they are negotiating, intends to thwart the negotiations,” said Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in his opening speech.
“Negotiations are for them only a part of the war,” he added.
The emir also said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “dreams of turning the Arab region into an Israeli sphere of influence, and that is a dangerous illusion.”
A draft final statement from the summit states that Israel’s “brutal” aggression “threatens everything that has been achieved on the path toward establishing normal relations with Israel, including existing and future agreements.”
Israel and its main ally, the U.S., are trying to expand the Abraham Accords, which in 2020 established ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Morocco.
