Qatar’s prime minister has called on the international community to reject “double standards” and hold Israel accountable, speaking on Sunday ahead of an emergency summit in Doha convened in response to an unprecedented Israeli strike on Hamas members in the Qatari capital.
The attack – carried out by one US ally on the territory of another – drew swift condemnation, including from President Donald Trump. While rebuking Israel, Trump also signalled continued support by dispatching Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Tel Aviv.
Summit of Arab and Islamic leaders
Monday’s emergency gathering of Arab and Islamic leaders is expected to highlight Gulf unity and intensify pressure on Israel, which faces growing demands to end the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“The time has come for the international community to stop using double standards and to punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a preparatory meeting. He warned that Israel’s “war of extermination” in Gaza would not succeed, blaming global silence for enabling continued attacks.
Leaders due to attend include Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas arrived in Doha on Sunday, while it remains unclear whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will participate.
Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said the summit will discuss “a draft resolution on the Israeli attack on the State of Qatar.”
Calls to ‘rein in Israel’
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Al Jazeera that Israel’s actions were “no longer just a Palestine-Israel issue,” framing them instead as part of a wider regional expansionism. “Arab and Islamic countries must come together and find a solution based on this newly defined problem,” he said.
Analysts expect the summit to deliver strong messaging to both Israel and Washington. Elham Fakhro of Harvard’s Middle East Initiative said Gulf states were likely to demand tighter US security guarantees, arguing Israel’s actions had “exposed the inadequacy of current assurances and undermined US credibility.”
Karim Bitar, a Middle East lecturer at Sciences Po in Paris, described the gathering as a “litmus test” for Arab and Muslim leaders. “What their people expect today is not another vague communiqué,” he said, “but a clear signal to Israel and the United States that the blank check has run out.”
Strategic backdrop
Qatar, host to the largest US military base in the region, has played a central mediation role in the Israel-Hamas conflict alongside the US and Egypt. Sheikh Mohammed met with President Trump for dinner in Washington on Friday.
Hamas politburo member Bassem Naim said the group hoped the summit would yield “a decisive and unified Arab-Islamic position” following the October 2023 attack that triggered the Gaza war.
