On Netanyahu and His Ongoing Messages

Author: علي حبيب الله

"Israel does not err, and if it does, it is within its rights..." This was stated by former U.S. President Joe Biden during one of his meetings in December 2023, two months after the onset of the genocide against Gaza. Biden's statement represents America's unwavering and permanent stance on Israel, no matter what the latter does, including daring to bomb in an Arab - Gulf state with the largest American military base, like Qatar.

In his recent speech from within the American embassy in Jerusalem, just a day after Israeli fighters attempted to target Hamas leaders in Qatar, Benjamin Netanyahu likened his action to the U.S. response following the September 11, 2001, attacks, reminding them of their retaliatory wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Netanyahu stated that the U.S. did not target Pakistan when it aimed at the Al-Qaeda leader on its territory, and likewise, Israel did not target Qatar and its sovereignty when it aimed at Hamas leaders in Doha. It is no coincidence that Netanyahu's justifying speech comes with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, event, serving as a reminder to America about the Americans themselves.

When Netanyahu's government viewed the October 7, 2023, attack as a Middle Eastern version of September 11, 2001, a move that prompted the latter to erase all red lines set by international relations beforehand, justifying their war on Al-Qaeda and "terrorism" or under the pretext of fighting it, post-October 7, Israel no longer sees any red line against its efforts to eliminate Hamas and its leaders wherever they may be. Arabs and regional countries must establish their own red lines for themselves, not for Israel, according to the message from the latter.

The bombing of Doha marks a turning point in Israel's war on Gaza and the region, especially considering Netanyahu's decision to target the leaders of a party negotiating with him while they were meeting in a session related to the negotiation track on the territory of a state that has been mediating in the negotiations since the first day of the war, as Qatar has. However, this targeting is occurring within the context of a war that is increasingly becoming more brutal day by day without deterrence. A few weeks ago, the air force of the occupation army targeted an entire ministerial council in Yemen, resulting in the deaths of the Houthi government head and nine of his ministers. This was a prelude meant to be understood as a setup for the targeting of Hamas leaders a few days ago in Doha, and this overstepping could extend to the killing of leaders and politicians wholesale in Lebanon and beyond in the future.

The attempt to target Hamas leaders in Doha was unsuccessful, but by the standards of Netanyahu and his government's message of seeking profit even in loss, the message to Hamas from the Doha operation is clear: every negotiation maneuver and the retrieval of Israeli hostages in Gaza remain a supplementary file to the war and its objectives, not the reverse. According to reports circulated in the Israeli media today, Saturday, regarding what they describe as "new data" related to the Doha operation, which despite its failure, is enough to raise voices in Hamas that perceive Israel as an "unexpected enemy," according to an Israeli security source.

As for Doha, which remains a target on its territory, it serves as a wound for it, having long occupied the role of mediator in the negotiations to end the war. Qatar is a state that possesses cards to move and rally against Israel in violation of its sovereignty on both the Arab and international levels diplomatically, at least. However, Netanyahu and his government envision that Doha can absorb the operation on its territory as long as it previously absorbed Iran's targeting of the American base on its land! In other words, "We did not intend to target you, just as Iran did not intend to target you," Netanyahu's message to Doha conveys. Arab and Gulf solidarity, especially alongside Qatar, may lead to a path that stands with it to relieve it of its role, rather than one that aims to deter and restrain Israel.

Netanyahu, along with his government and occupying army, seems to be bent on annihilating Gaza and erasing it from the map, with no hope of halting the war against it, nor any deterrent from overstepping all the states in the region in this context. This sends a clear and calculated message that the Arabs do not want to grasp the seriousness of its implications in the near and distant future for them and for the region. This continues to grant Netanyahu and his government a one-way ticket in their efforts toward further isolation. What this war has achieved after two years for Israel is its success in enabling itself to dominate each party individually.