Netanyahu’s Qatar attack will only isolate him and Israel even further

Never admit failure and never apologise. These seem to be the guiding principles of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

- Jonathan Eyal Global Affairs Correspondent

His Sept 9 decision to bomb Qatar in a bid to kill some of the top leaders of the radical Palestinian organisation Hamas was met with widespread international condemnation, including a sharp rebuke just issued by a rare summit of 50 heads of state and government of Arab and Muslim states.

Unusually, the United States — Israel's closest ally — also initially expressed displeasure, with US President Donald Trump complaining that he was notified only after the strike on Qatar was under way, giving the White House no opportunity to oppose it.

And perhaps more importantly, Mr Netanyahu’s risky gamble seems to have failed: Hamas claims that its most important leaders are alive.

Yet, Mr Netanyahu is undeterred. He doubled down on threats to hit Qatar again, should he consider it necessary.

And he emerged triumphant from meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has just ended a visit to Israel.

Instead of scolding the Israelis, America’s top diplomat avoided a public discussion about the bombing of Qatar and instead supported the Israeli position that only the “elimination” of Hamas can bring about an end to the Gaza war.

However, beyond his carefully cultivated macho image of defiance, the reality is that the Qatar attack has weakened Mr Netanyahu at home and isolated his country even further.

A week after the bombing, it is still difficult to separate facts from fiction. Still, peering through the fog of claims and counterclaims, it is evident that most of Israel’s security establishment was against the bombing of Qatar.

Of particular importance are growing indications that the operation was initially designed to be a ground attack, executed by Israeli special forces with the help of agents of Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency.