Benjamin Netanyahu called Qatar’s prime minister from the White House and apologised for the Israeli strike on Doha which sparked global condemnation earlier this month.
In a joint call with American president Donald Trump, the Israeli prime minister conveyed “deep regret” to Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani over a Qatari national’s death in the 9 September attack.
The Israeli airstrike was aimed at political leaders of the Palestinian group Hamas who had gathered in the Qatari capital to discuss a Gaza ceasefire plan backed by the US. It ended up killing five low-ranking Hamas members and a member of the Qatari security forces.
Qatar, a US ally and crucial mediator between Israel and Hamas, condemned the “cowardly attack” and urged the international community to punish Israel for its actions.
In the aftermath of the strike, Mr Trump said he was “not happy” with Israel and that the operation did not advance Israel’s or America’s goals. He nonetheless stopped short of openly criticising Mr Netanyahu for the attack.
A spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry told The Independent at the time that Mr Netanyahu was a “narcissistic saboteur-in-chief” who was determined to wreck any chance of peace in the Middle East.
The Qatari government had demanded an apology before it would resume any mediation between Israel and Hamas, Bloomberg reported.
The Israeli leader “as a first step” expressed his “deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman”, the White House said in a statement on Monday. He “further expressed regret that, in targeting the Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future”.
The Qatari foreign ministry confirmed the call, adding that Mr Netanyahu “apologised for the attack on Doha and on Qatar’s sovereignty”.
Mr Trump later told a news conference that the Israeli and Qatari leaders “really had a heart-to-heart conversation” that was “productive”.
Mr Netanyahu, standing alongside Trump, claimed “Israel was targeting terrorists” with the strike. “It wasn’t targeting Qatar,” he said.
The White House, meanwhile, has unveiled a 20-point proposal aimed at bringing an immediate end to the war in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed more than 66,000 Palestinians so far, according to local health officials.
Hostilities will cease at once if both Hamas and Israel agree to the proposal. All Israeli hostages in Gaza, both dead and alive, will be returned within 72 hours, and hundreds of Palestinian taken by Israel will be released.
The plan envisages a temporary technocratic Palestinian administration overseeing Gaza, excluding Hamas from any governance role, while ensuring that Israel doesn’t annex the besieged territory. The make-up of the proposed governing body is unclear, but the plan names former British prime minister Tony Blair as a member.
Mr Netanyahu said he accepted the framework set out by Mr Trump. Hamas said they would analyse the proposal “in good faith” once they received a formal, written version.
