ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday the Israeli aggression against Qatar, which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif described as “most dangerous provocation that could imperil regional peace and stability”, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to target the Hamas leadership.
On the other hand, Israel carried these strikes after informing the United States.
A White House official told AFP that Israel had notified the United States in advance about the strikes in Qatar, a key US ally that is home to a large US military base.
It makes the situation more complicated given the fact that the US allowed one of allies to attack another ally at a time President Donald Trump wants all the Gulf States to join the Abraham Accords.
Among the key Hamas leaders based in Qatar are lead negotiator Khalil al-Hayya and political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal.
On the other hand, Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, told Al Jazeera that the group’s leadership had survived the Israeli attack.
However, he said the attack killed al-Hayya’s son, Humam, and one of his top aides, adding that contact has also been lost with three other bodyguards.
REGIONAL PEACE AND STABILITY
“This act of aggression by Israel is totally unjustified, a brazen violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar, and constitutes a most dangerous provocation that could imperil regional peace and stability,” the prime minister said in a statement.
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But it is clearly planned provocation to which Shehbaz referred.
Amir Ohana, speaker of the Israeli Knesset, in a social media post said, “This is a message for the entire Middle East”
Expressing full support to Qatar’s government and people, he condemned “the unlawful and heinous bombing in Doha by Israeli forces, targeting a residential area, and endangering the lives of innocent civilians”.
At the same time, he said Pakistan stood by Qatar and the Palestinians.
“Pakistan stands firmly with the State of Qatar, as well as with the people of Palestine against Israel’s aggression.”
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Similarly, President Asif Ali Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s full support to Qatar and warned that “such actions are a grave threat to peace in the region”.
GREATER ISRAEL
The latest attack under far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on another Middle East country came amid the plans to annex parts of occupied West Bank and calls for establishing “Greater Israel”.
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Israel is trying to sabotage the upcoming recognition of the Palestinian state — a move pushed by France and Saudi Arabia — by expanding the conflict as it pushes ahead with its plan to occupy Gaza City.
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Similarly, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the Israeli attack “blatantly violates international law and humanitarian norms. Targeting civilians and sovereign territory is an indefensible act of aggression”.
HAMAS IS THE STATED TARGET
Earlier on Tuesday, Israel’s military said it conducted air strikes targeting senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital.
Qatar, which has been a key mediator in efforts to broker a truce in Gaza, said Israeli strikes targeted the homes of several members of Hamas’s political bureau residing in the Gulf country, , where the militant group’s senior leadership is based.
The strikes were carried out jointly by the military and the Shin Bet security agency, the two bodies said in a statement.
Neither Israeli officials nor domestic media have confirmed whether the strikes hit their intended targets. Hamas has also not commented on the fate of its leaders.
Netanyahu said he ordered the strikes in response to a Monday shooting in Jerusalem that killed six people and was later claimed by Hamas.
“Yesterday, following the deadly attacks in Jerusalem and Gaza, Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed all security agencies to prepare for the possibility of targeting Hamas leaders,” said a joint statement from Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz.
“Today at noon (0900 GMT), in light of an operational opportunity… the prime minister and the defence minister decided to implement the directive given last night.”
‘FLAGRANT VIOLATION’
UN chief Antonio Guterres is also among those condemning Israel’s “flagrant violation” of Qatari sovereignty.
Iran, a key backer of Hamas, condemned the attack as a “gross violation of all international rules and regulations, a violation of Qatar’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and an attack on Palestinian negotiators”.
Western allies Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates also condemned the attack, among others.
Similarly, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) extended its full support to Qatar.
It said GCC countries “stand in full solidarity with the sisterly State of Qatar and stand with it in any action it takes against this treacherous aggression, which has violated and torn apart all international laws and treaties adopted by the countries of the world.”
It’s a developing story. Details to follow