Did the US Not Know? Why Israel's Strike on Hamas in Qatar Is a Reckless Gamble

Instead of humiliating Qatar as Israel intended, the strike may have strengthened Washington's security bond with Doha.

- Jonathan Eyal

It may take some time before we get accurate information on whether the audacious Israeli bombing of the Qatari capital of Doha has indeed killed the most senior Hamas commanders, or whether the top leaders of the radical Palestinian organization have survived the attack.

Yet, even at this early stage, two conclusions are obvious. The daylight Sept. 9 attacks on the Qatari capital is a reckless Israeli gamble. And their most likely outcome is the death of any hope for an end to the war in Gaza.

A SHEIKHDOM APART

All the Gulf monarchies have worked hard to make their voices heard on the international stage, often for the same reasons: As small and vulnerable countries sitting on valuable oil and natural gas deposits in a region riven by centuries of strategic competition, they need all the friends and allies they can muster.

Yet in all such activities, Qatar stands apart from its Gulf peers by the sheer breadth of its determination to project itself on the global stage. Compared with its immediate neighbors, Qatar's Al Thani ruling royal family is more cautious and conservative at home. But it is far ahead of its peers in ambition.

It invests heavily in its extensive global footprint by maintaining an oversize, well-educated and well-funded diplomatic service. It positively seeks a role in mediating the resolution of international conflicts, from Europe, where it negotiated various prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, to the handling of wars and natural disasters in Asia and Africa.

It is careful to prove its usefulness to everyone. Its Al Udeid Air Base, constructed in the 1990s, is now the US military's largest outpost in the Middle East. Yet at the same time, Qatar is also friendly to Iran, as well as being broadly sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist movements.