Qatar PM urges world to hold Israel accountable ahead of Doha summit

DOHA, Sept 15 — Qatar’s prime minister has called on the international community to end “double standards” and hold Israel accountable, ahead of an emergency summit convened in Doha following an unprecedented Israeli strike on Hamas members in the Qatari capital.

The deadly attack — carried out by one US ally on the soil of another — drew widespread criticism, including from President Donald Trump, who nevertheless sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Israel as a gesture of support.

Monday’s emergency meeting of Arab and Islamic leaders is expected to showcase Gulf unity and increase pressure on Israel, already facing growing demands to halt the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“The time has come for the international community to stop using double standards and punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed,” Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told a preparatory meeting on Sunday, warning that Israel’s “war of extermination” in Gaza would not succeed.

“What allows Israel to continue is the silence and inability of the international community to hold it to account,” he added.

Among those expected at the summit are Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, who arrived in Doha on Sunday. It is still unclear if Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will attend, though he visited Qatar earlier in the week in a gesture of solidarity.

Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the summit will review “a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Al Jazeera that Israel’s actions were “no longer just a Palestine-Israel issue,” but a wider problem of “Israeli expansionism in the region,” urging Arab and Islamic countries to find a united response.

Analysts say Gulf states are likely to press Washington to rein in Israel and push for stronger US security guarantees, as Israel’s actions have highlighted what they see as weaknesses in current assurances.

Karim Bitar, a Middle East lecturer at Sciences Po University in Paris, described the summit as a “litmus test” for Arab and Muslim leaders, noting that their populations are “sick and tired of old-style communiques” and expect a stronger signal to both Israel and the US.

Qatar, home to the largest US military base in the region, plays a key mediation role in the Israel-Hamas conflict alongside Washington and Cairo.

Hamas politburo member Bassem Naim said the group hoped the Doha summit would deliver “a decisive and unified Arab-Islamic position.” — AFP