"When Donald Trump visited Qatar in May, he promised to defend the tiny, wealthy emirate and its rulers. We are going to protect this country, Trump declared on his state visit, where he was treated like royalty and honored in gilded palaces. It's a very special place, with a special royal family They are great people and they are going to be protected by the United States."
"But none of that, including Trump's exuberant promises of protection, stopped Israel from attacking Qatar on Tuesday. Israel launched a brazen airstrike against a group of Hamas leaders who were meeting in the country's capital, Doha, to consider the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal submitted by Israel and the US. The senior Hamas officials, including its top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, survived the attack but six others were killed."
"That Israel was trying to kill the negotiators and to destroy Qatar's role as a mediator between Hamas and western powers is no surprise. For nearly two years, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has consistently obstructed ceasefire talks and torpedoed potential deals by adding new demands or changing his mind. And when that hasn't worked, Netanyahu has resorted to assassinating Hamas leaders in an apparent bid to stall negotiations."
Donald Trump publicly promised to defend Qatar and its rulers during a state visit. Qatar invested billions in upgrading the largest US military base in the Middle East and purchased US warplanes and weapons. The Qatari government donated a $400m luxury Boeing jet being refitted for Trump to use as Air Force One. Israel launched an airstrike in Doha against Hamas leaders meeting to consider a Gaza ceasefire proposal; senior negotiator Khalil al-Hayya survived while six others were killed. Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly obstructed ceasefire talks and used targeted killings to hinder negotiations. Israel acted with apparent impunity backed by US political and military support.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]