Qatari PM says Netanyahu must be 'brought to justice' after Israeli strikes on Doha
Qatari PM says Netanyahu must be 'brought to justice' after Israeli strikes on Doha
The Qatari prime minister said Israel’s strikes on Qatari soil on Monday constituted “state terror” and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be "brought to justice", in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani told journalist Becky Anderson that he had “no words to express how enraged we are”.
When Anderson asked Thani to express his anger in one word, he said, “This is state terror. That's what they call it.”
Netanyahu has expressed no regret for Israel's attack and pledged to target Qatar and any country that harbours “terrorists”. He said that if they didn’t bring them to justice or expel them, Israel would.
Thani said he refused to accept such a threat from “someone like Netanyahu”.
“He is calling about 'bring them to justice'. He needs to be brought to justice,” he said in a firm tone. “He's the one who's wanted at the ICC [International Criminal Court]. That's number one.
“So I think that someone like him, trying to lecture the world about the law - he's breaking every law. He broke every international law. He's starving people in Gaza, and he's doing all these sorts of actions in the entire region. What's next? What's next for him?”
Israel's strikes on Doha on Tuesday targeted a meeting of leaders from Hamas's political bureau who were meeting to discuss a ceasefire proposal for Gaza, where nearly 65,000 people have been killed since the war broke out. Israel's war on the enclave has been deemed a genocide by scholars and human rights bodies.
None of the Hamas leadership targeted in the strike was killed or wounded, but Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya's son, an office assistant and a Qatari security officer were among the six killed in the strikes.
The Qatari prime minister also relayed how he had met with one of the Israeli captives’ families the morning Israel launched air strikes on Doha. He recalled how they told him they were “counting" on the mediation that Qatar was brokering.
“They have no other hope for that [release of captives],” Thani said. “I think what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages”.
Thani said that after the war on Gaza broke out in October 2023, Netanyahu has systematically been killing any chance of retrieving the captives or peace and stability.
“Since the war started after October 7, in a systematic way, he (Netanyahu) has tried to undermine any chance of stability, any possibility of peace and any chance of retrieving his own hostages,” he said.
The Qatari prime minister said he had witnessed Netanyahu’s attempts to kill a peace deal “on many occasions” throughout the negotiations.
Thani maintained that US President Donald Trump did not agree with Israel's attacks on Doha.
"The US has expressed on many occasions their support for us. The president was very clear that this is unacceptable and he didn't agree with Israel’s actions,” he said.
'Barbaric action'
Thani said that Israel’s bombing of Qatar was a new low, not just because Qatar was sovereign territory, but because he believed there should be a minimum level of decency and ethics for Qatar’s multi-year role as a mediator.
At one point in the interview, Anderson says, “You’ve described him as a narcissist, what do you mean by that?”
Thani responded by saying that Israel's actions were "barbaric".
“We were thinking that we are dealing with civilised people,” he said. “That's the way we are dealing with others. And the action that he took, I cannot describe it, but it's a barbaric action.”
The interview was his second one with CNN in two days. On Tuesday, he told CNN that the entire Gulf region was at risk after Tuesday's strikes on Hamas's political leadership.
He also promised there would be a collective response from the region to deter Israel from continuing its "bullying".
Israel launched air strikes on residential buildings in Doha around 4pm local time on Tuesday, including the area where Hamas officials were set to meet to discuss the latest US ceasefire proposal for Gaza, killing six people.
The Israeli military confirmed it carried out the strikes, saying it had targeted Hamas’s senior leadership. However, the strikes hit the wrong location thanks to a change of venue, which is standard operating procedure for the group, sources told Middle East Eye on Tuesday.
A source close to the Palestinian movement told MEE that all senior leaders targeted in the attack survived, including Khalil al-Hayya, Khaled Meshal, Zaher Jabarin, and others.
Qatari Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari was killed in the attack, as well as five Hamas members.
Those killed included Khalil al-Hayya’s son, Hammam al-Hayya, and his office director, Jihad Lubbad, according to sources. Several others were wounded.
Funerals for those killed in the attacks are set to be held on Thursday at the Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque in Doha.
