Qatar Urges To End Double Standard Against Israel

JAKARTA - Qatar urged an end to Israel's doubles standard in a meeting to prepare for the Arab League foreign ministerial and Organizational meeting for Islamic Cooperation (OKI) in Doha on Sunday.

In his opening speech, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said, "there is no tolerance" in the face of Israel's "barbaric" attack, which creates dangerous precedents and is an illustration that Israel "does not have a red line".

"It's time now to stop double standards and punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed and so Israel knows that ethnic cleansing carried out against Palestine will not work," he stressed as quoted by The National September 14.

"Israel is only "insisted" by the failure of the international community to act," he added.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit said, "quietly against a crime is a crime".

"What we need to try today is to hold those responsible for war crimes, from killing civilians to hunger that plagues the population and destruction of the entire community in Gaza," he said.

Preparations for the Arab-Islamic emergency summit began less than a week after Israel attacked Doha in an unprecedented attack, not only against the Gulf state, but also against key US allies who host the country's largest base in the region.

Six people were killed, including a member of Qatar's security forces, in an Israeli attack that Qatar called "state terrorism".

Israel's condemnation of Israel's swift actions has flowed from the countries of the Gulf, Arabs, and the UN Security Council, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has actually strengthened his steps.

He urged Qatar to expel Hamas officials living in Doha or "trial them", adding: "if not, we will."

Turkish Prince Al Faisal, a former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Britain and the US, expressed his hope that the summit would draw criticism from participating countries to "dict Israel for heinous acts and genocide in Gaza as well as for intentional dangerous attacks against Qatar".

He added that economic sanctions must be imposed on Israel and question the credibility of the US, given its strong support for the country.

"US credibility is at a crossroads in the Arab and Muslim worlds," he said.

While foreign ministers at the Arab-Islam emergency summit continue to discuss the best steps ahead, another remaining question is the US position among its two disputing allies: Qatar and Israel.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman has just returned from a trip to Washington where he met with President Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, and US envoy to the region, Steve Witkoff.

Trump said he was "unhappy" with the Israeli attack, but did not directly reprimand PM Netanyahu.

Shortly thereafter, Foreign Minister Rubio arrived in Israel to discuss "central Eastern security", but before his departure, he reaffirmed his country's support for Israel even though the US did not approve of the attack on Doha.

"This will not change our relationship with Israel, but we have to talk about it especially, what is the impact" on Gaza's continued ceasefire efforts," he told reporters.

The group is discussing the US's latest proposal for a deal when it was attacked by Israel. Qatar itself has been an important mediator between Israel and Hamas since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023.

PM Netanyahu himself indicated that he would continue to target Hamas officials abroad, which pose a threat not only to Qatar but also to Turkey, which houses some of the group's officials.