In Qatar attack, Israel and US again use diplomacy for aggression
Devoted to destroying Gaza, Israel attacks US ally Qatar and exposes Hamas ceasefire talks as yet another ruse.
The Israeli bombing of Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar came just two days after US president Donald Trump issued what he called his “last warning” to the Palestinian group. “The Israelis have accepted my Terms,” Trump wrote on social media. “It is time for Hamas to accept as well.”
Trump’s terms, outlined in a 100-word document, demanded that Hamas release all remaining captives in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, with no guarantee of a permanent end to Israel’s mass murder rampage in Gaza. During that pause, the US proposal stated, “President Trump will guarantee that the parties negotiate in good faith until an agreement is reached.”
Trump made a similar pledge to Hamas earlier this year when he convinced it to free Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander, only to continue supporting Israel’s bombardment and starvation siege upon his release.
This new overture was also in bad faith. As Hamas officials gathered to discuss Trump’s ultimatum, 10 Israeli warplanes entered Qatari airspace and bombed them. Six people were reportedly killed; Hamas claims that its senior leadership survived.
As they did with Iran back in June, Trump and his ally Benjamin Netanyahu had used the cover of negotiations for an act of aggression that sabotaged a potential agreement. Prior to the attack, the Mossad even gave the Qataris assurances that “we will not attack on your soil.” But that was part of the ruse. The US military base in Qatar – the largest in the Middle East – can easily detect incoming attacks, but did not activate its air defenses, a sign that the Trump administration was involved. If it weren’t obvious enough, the Jerusalem Post immediately reported, citing Israeli officials, that Washington “gave the green light for the operation,” as it has for every Israeli act of violence since Oct. 7th and countless before it.
Having facilitated an Israeli strike on an allied country hosting 10,000 US soldiers, the White House delivered an incoherent response. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump “feels very badly about the location” of the Israeli strike. This was a nod to its awkward timing: the Qatari location recently gifted Trump a $400 million Boeing 747-8 luxury jet, along with what the White House touted as $1.2 trillion in investment pledges. And while the attack “does not advance Israel's or America's goals”, Trump nonetheless believes that “eliminating Hamas... is a worthy goal.”
Qatar has responded by suspending its mediation efforts. But since Israel broke the last ceasefire in March, the talks have been a farce. Like the Biden administration before it, the Trump team has repeatedly pretended that Hamas is the obstacle even after it agrees to ever-shifting US-Israeli terms. Last month, Hamas accepted a proposal transmitted by Trump envoy Steve Witkoff for the release of 10 living Israeli captives, in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 150 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Netanyahu ignored Hamas and proceeded with his plans to destroy Gaza City, the last habitable area of Gaza after nearly two years of unrelenting Israeli violence. Israel’s latest targets include high-rise buildings that housed tens of thousands of people and multiple human rights organizations, some struck with minimal or no warning. To complete the scorched earth campaign, Israel has ordered everyone sheltering in Gaza City – around 1 million people, half of Gaza’s population – to evacuate.
Deploying his stock propaganda line, Netanyahu claims that he is targeting “terrorist high-rises” used by Hamas for militant activity. In real life, the Israeli leader is implementing the final stage of his plan to force as many Palestinians as possible into permanent exile.
The Israeli military, Netanyahu reportedly explained to lawmakers in May, is “destroying more and more houses” so that Palestinians therefore “have nowhere to return.” He added: “The only obvious result will be Gazans choosing to emigrate outside of the Strip.” Netanyahu’s top choice remains Egypt to Gaza’s south, but Israeli officials have tried to entice other states, including South Sudan, to absorb Palestinians forced into exile.
The plan was circulated in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7th attack. A leaked military intelligence report, dated Oct. 13th 2023, called on Israel “to bring about a significant change in the civilian reality” in Gaza. Of three proposed options, the “evacuation of the civilian population from Gaza to Sinai” was identified as “the one that yields positive and long-term strategic results for Israel.”
Nearly two years later, the ethnic cleansing operation in Gaza continues as planned. Its Washington sponsor remains complicit at every juncture, even if that means facilitating Israeli violence against a less important client state.