Israel’s daring attack on Hamas leaders in Doha last week was a justified gamble that failed.
It was a gamble to attack a sovereign country that was hosting the leadership of a terrorist organization. Let’s ponder that sentence again. A sovereign country was hosting the leadership of a terrorist organization.
As the Post’s Seth Frantzman wrote, the terrorist organization’s leadership has been residing in Qatar for over a decade. It has enjoyed a life of luxury and privilege while there.
Visiting Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, and other countries, those top Hamas officials have been able to fly around the Middle East. They felt safe and secure, even when they cheered the October 7 massacre on, watching Israelis being slaughtered.
Israel’s decision to strike in the heart of Doha, nearly two years after the war began and Qatar began mediating between Israel and Hamas, signals a new stage in attempts to free the hostages and defeat Hamas.
First, it shows that negotiations over the hostages – in which Qatar has played a leading role – were at a dead end.
Hamas, with Qatar’s acquiescence, has delayed time and time again any progress toward a ceasefire or an end to the war that would see the remaining hostages return home.
As our editor-in-chief, Zvika Klein, wrote here last week, time was a tactic. And as long as Hamas had Qatar in its corner, there was no urgency in reaching a deal. But we all know too well, from seeing the propaganda videos that Hamas releases of the hostages, that a deal is urgent.
Double game being played by Qatar
Qatar’s double game, disguised as being an honest broker and the only party that had relations with both Israel and Hamas, has proven to be a broken record. And Qatar’s puffed-up prestige as being the only country that has benefited since October 7 has been deflated.
N12’s Middle East analyst Ehud Yaa’ari said after the attack that, despite public criticism, Middle East countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia were “100%” privately pleased that Israel had undertaken the mission.
Israel’s Western allies, however, appear to be more upset than the countries in our neighborhood.
Canada’s Foreign Minister Anita Anand told reporters on Wednesday that Canada is evaluating its relationship with Israel in the wake of its attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar.
Both British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the strikes, warning of further escalation across the region.
“Today’s Israeli strikes on Qatar are unacceptable, whatever the reason. I express my solidarity with Qatar and its emir, Sheikh Tamim Al Thani. Under no circumstances should the war spread throughout the region,” said Macron.
Yes, conducting an attack by violating territorial sovereignty is not a good look, but all of the above countries neglected to mention the heinous target of those attacks and the justification for them.
But we’ve come to expect that kind of reaction for Israel’s actions since October 7 from those countries.
It was the reaction of US President Donald Trump, who supposedly understands Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu better than anyone, which was most perplexing.
He told reporters that he was “very unhappy” about the attack. Since he would clearly shed no tears over the demise of the Hamas leadership, his anger may be derived from jeopardized business ties with Qatar.
Apparently, his bluster toward Hamas, which has included many “last warnings” of “all hell breaking loose” unless they release the hostages, is only meant for effect, and when action is actually taken, he falls in line with others.
Israel could have plodded along, sending negotiating teams to Qatar, and continuing to get stonewalled by Hamas intransigence as the hostages continue to languish in Gaza tunnels. That charade is over.
The United States and Israel’s Western friends would do well to change their tune, back Israel’s actions, and start putting the pressure on Hamas and their interlocutors, Qatar.
Israel’s actions last week, even if they didn’t achieve the goals that were set, were a clarion call that the Jewish state will no longer sit idly by while the leaders of a terrorist organization aimed at destroying it are walking free in a welcoming host country.