'This Has Changed the Region Forever'

Qatari spokesperson Majed al-Ansari tells Newsweek of Gulf leaders' plans to warn President Donald Trump of a "new threat perception" following Israel's strikes in Doha

- TOM O'CONNOR

PLEDGE U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on September 16 in Doha, where he promised support for Qatar's security to Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim AI Thani.

THE SHOCK OF AN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE REVERBERATED far beyond the streets of Doha. The attack that claimed six lives—including that of 22-year-old Lance Corporal Badr Saad Mohammed al-Humaidi al-Dosari—was a tragedy that resonated across Qatar. A senior Qatari official has told Newsweek that the nation and its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council partners were planning to convey to President Donald Trump a drastic change in regional views toward Israel as a result of the September 9 strike.

Speaking ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City from September 22-30, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari described the Israeli strike that targeted a Hamas office in the Qatari capital as “a moment that changed Qatari society forever.”

“For the first time in our history, one of our own was killed by an airstrike on our country,” Ansari, who also serves as adviser to Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said. “An airstrike that wasn’t warranted, had nothing to do with Qatari participation in any kind of violent conflict, anywhere, and was a direct result of Qatar choosing to be an actor for peace.”

The effects of the strike—which Ansari said took place as Hamas officials met to discuss a new ceasefire proposal to the ongoing war in Gaza that Qatar has played a key role in mediating—have reverberated far beyond the peninsular nation of around 2.6 million people bordering Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf.

“This has changed the region forever,” Ansari said. “Our region post the ninth of September is not the same region as it was before.”