Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim used his UN General Assembly address to denounce Israel’s attack on Doha and its policy of political assassinations, calling it a rogue state undermining global diplomacy.
Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has highlighted Israel’s policy of assassinations and global violations, including its attack on Doha, during his address at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
Sheikh Tamim’s speech came two weeks after Israel struck Doha on September 9, targeting a building housing Hamas negotiators in the middle of a residential neighbourhood.
The attack killed five Hamas members and 22-year-old Corporal Bader Al-Humaidi Al-Dosari of Qatar’s Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya).
“They [Israel] negotiate with delegations and plot to assassinate the members of the negotiation teams. It is difficult to cooperate with such a mentality that does not respect the most minimum standards of cooperation,” Sheikh Tamim told the UNGA on Tuesday.
“Is this not the very definition of a rogue government?” he added.
Israel carried out the attack while Hamas’s negotiators were discussing the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal, which was presented by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sheikh Tamim, during his address, said the attack undermined any diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza. The Qatari leader noted the attack showed that Israel had turned into a “rogue” state.
He also pointed to the claims by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s so-called right to pursue “terrorists” wherever they may be.
“It is an attack on a mediating, peace-making state whose diplomacy has been dedicated to resolving conflicts through peaceful means,” Sheikh Tamim said.
Several other leaders highlighted Israel’s attack on Qatar in their speeches at the UNGA, including Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“Nothing justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza. There, under tonnes of rubble, are buried tens of thousands of innocent women and children,” the president said.
“The spread of this conflict to Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Qatar is fueling an unprecedented arms buildup,” he added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan separately noted that the attack on Qatar had proven that Israel’s leaders were “completely out of control”.
“Just recently, an Israeli attack took place against a delegation in Qatar for ceasefire negotiations. The attack on Qatar has also shown that the Israeli leaders are completely out of control,” the Turkish leader said.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein also pointed to “the flagrant” Israeli violations, including attacks on Qatar, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Tunisia.
Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. have been mediating between Hamas and Israel since October 7, 2023, in an effort to reach a deal that would result in a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli captives.
The efforts stalled since Israel resumed its genocidal war in the Gaza Strip on March 18, two months after the mediators reached a ceasefire deal. The diplomatic efforts led to the release of 148 captives from Hamas.
“We have continued our mediation efforts, even though Israel unilaterally cancelled the latest ceasefire without providing any justification,” Sheikh Tamim said.
Israel has intensified its military operations in the Gaza Strip with plans to occupy the territory, with the local population reporting tremors equivalent to an earthquake from the daily bombings.
The total toll has also increased in the besieged enclave within less than two years, with at least 65,382 people killed by Israel since the beginning of the genocide, according to the latest figures by Gaza’s health authority.
