Marco Rubio asks Qatar to continue negotiations after Israel's attack
Following Israel's violation of airspace and aggression in Doha on 9 September, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to ask the Qatari state to continue negotiations as a mediator between Hamas and Israel in talks on the Gaza conflict.
Qatar has been at the centre of diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the Gaza war, which has been going on for almost two years, and Israel launched attacks while Hamas leaders were meeting to discuss a new ceasefire proposal from Donald Trump's administration.
During the visit, which lasted only a few hours, Marco Rubio expressed his gratitude for the mediation in the Gaza conflict. ‘We are going to ask Qatar to continue in its usual role, which we greatly appreciate, that is, to act constructively to try to end this; although, obviously, they must decide if they want to do so after what happened last week, but we want them to understand that if there is one country in the world capable of helping to mediate and end this conflict, it is Qatar,’ said the US Secretary of State.
At the same time, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights asked the US to use its influence over Israel to stop its military offensive, which is being condemned by more and more countries as alleged ‘genocide’.
Rubio insisted that the Israeli attack cannot foster distancing and mistrust between the West and the Arab world. In favour of appeasement, Rubio mentioned that Donald Trump will contact the Emir of Qatar to reach a new defence agreement and assured that Benjamin Netanyahu's regime ‘will not attack Qatar again’. However, the failure to mention that it will not attack Arab countries again and the Israeli prime minister's statements that he will go after Hamas leaders ‘wherever they are’ maintain the mistrust of the Arab League countries.
Nevertheless, relations between Qatar and the United States are good. One argument supporting this assertion is that the largest and most important US military base in the Middle East is located in Qatar. These facilities serve as headquarters for Central Command, a US Army unit operating in the region. However, few countries have a closer relationship with the United States than Israel, which has enjoyed strong support from Washington despite international condemnation of its military actions in Gaza.
Once the meeting is over, Marco Rubio will head to the United Kingdom to sign one of the most important economic agreements for the United States. Donald Trump is expected to attend the meeting, although the White House has not yet confirmed his attendance.
