After Qatar strike, could Turkey be Israel’s next Hamas target?

Analysts and officials warn Nato may not shield Ankara from Israeli military action

- BY STEPHEN N.R.

The recent Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar has rattled the region, raising fears that Turkey could be the next target in Israel’s widening campaign against the Palestinian group.

Analysts and officials warn that Ankara’s Nato membership may not provide the shield it believes it has against Israeli action.

On September 9, Israeli jets bombed a Hamas meeting in Doha, killing six. The attack shocked many who assumed Qatar’s role as mediator — and its status as a major non-Nato ally of the United States — would protect it from Israeli firepower. It did not.

Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute warned that Ankara could be next, stressing that “Nato membership is no guarantee of protection.” On social media, Israeli academic Meir Masri was blunt: “Today Qatar, tomorrow Turkey.”