Netanyahu says sorry to Qatar for Doha strike

US President Donald ‘Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for pivotal talks on Monday to press him to back a Gaza peace proposal aimed at ending a nearly two-year-old war that has seen Israel face growing international isolation.

- Reuters

Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.

(AP)

At the meeting, Netanyahu apologised to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani during a phone call that included Trump on Monday, a source close to Netanyahu told Reuters. Israel angered Qatar, a US ally, and drew criticism from Trump for an airstrike against Hamas leaders in Doha on September 9. A delegation from Qatar, which helped mediate previous indirect Israel-Hamas negotiations, was also at the White House, according to a separate source briefed on the talks.

In Netanyahu’s fourth visit since Trump returned to office in January, the right-wing Israeli leader was looking to shore up his country’s most important relationship after a slew of Western leaders formally embraced Palestinian statehood last week in defiance of the US and Israel.

Trump, who had sharply criticised the recognition moves as a prize for Hamas, was seeking Netanyahu’s agreement on a framework to end the war in the Palestinian territory and free the remaining hostages held by the militants.