Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called on Qatar and other nations that harbor terrorists to expel them or bring them to justice, adding that if they don't, "we will."
In his statement, Netanyahu reflected on the upcoming anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, saying, "Tomorrow is September 11th...On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery on American soil since the founding of the United States. We also have September 11th. We remember October 7th. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst savagery against the Jewish people since the Holocaust."
Netanyahu: "Like with 9/11, we went after masterminds who committed October 7th"
The prime minister said that after September 11, the US hunted down the terrorists who committed the crimes, and passed a resolution in the UN Security Council that stated that governments cannot harbor terrorists.
"Yesterday, we acted along those lines. We went after the terrorist masterminds who committed the October 7th massacre," Netanyahu said.
"And we did so in Qatar, which gives them a safe haven. It harbors terrorists, it finances Hamas, it gives its terrorist chieftains sumptuous villas, it gives them everything."
Netanyahu criticized various countries that condemned Israel, drawing parallels to the United States after 9/11.
"And I say to Qatar and all nations that harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice. Because if you don’t, we will."
Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani criticized Netanyahu's decision to strike Qatar on Wednesday during an interview with CNN, saying that "Netanyahu is leading the Middle East to chaos."
The Qatari prime minister added that Qatari officers were injured in the Israeli attack on Doha and are in critical condition. Additionally, Qatar is reassessing "everything" about its mediating role and Hamas's future in Gaza.
Al Thani said that "Netanyahu has been wasting Qatar's time by engaging in mediation," and that there are ongoing discussions over a response, in coordination with regional partners.
The Sheikh engaged in a phone call with Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Araghchi emphasized a need for decisive action to hold Israel "accountable for its repeated and egregious breaches of international norms."
In response, Al Thani affirmed that "Qatar's government will take all necessary measures to safeguard the country's national security against aggression by the Zionist regime."