By Jana Choukeir and Andrew Mills DOHA (Reuters) – Leaders of Arab and Islamic states will warn that Israel’s attack on Qatar and other “hostile acts” threaten coexistence and efforts to normalise ties in the region, according to a draft resolution to be put before an Arab-Islamic summit on Monday. The summit is being convened […]
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Arab-Islamic summit to warn Israeli attacks threaten normalisation of ties, draft resolution shows
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By Jana Choukeir and Andrew Mills
DOHA (Reuters) – Leaders of Arab and Islamic states will warn that Israel’s attack on Qatar and other “hostile acts” threaten coexistence and efforts to normalise ties in the region, according to a draft resolution to be put before an Arab-Islamic summit on Monday.
The summit is being convened in Doha in a show of support for Qatar in the wake of the Israeli attack targeting leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who reside in the Gulf state.
The September 9 attack, which Hamas says killed five of its members but not its leadership, has prompted U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states to close ranks, adding to strains in ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, which normalised relations in 2020.
An excerpt of the draft resolution seen by Reuters said “the brutal Israeli attack on Qatar and the continuation of Israel’s hostile acts including genocide, ethnic cleansing, starvation, siege, and colonizing activities and expansion policies threatens prospects of peace and coexistence in the region.”
These actions threaten “everything that has been achieved on the path of normalizing ties with Israel including current agreements and future ones”, according to the draft, which was drawn up by foreign ministers meeting ahead of the summit.
ISRAEL REJECTS GENOCIDE ACCUSATION
Israel has been widely accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, including by the world’s biggest group of genocide scholars, during its nearly two-year campaign in the Palestinian enclave that has killed more than 64,000 people, according to local authorities.
Israel rejects the accusation, citing its right to self-defence following the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Hitting back at global condemnation of the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has kept up pressure on Qatar over the presence of Hamas leaders on its soil, warning Doha on Wednesday to either expel Hamas officials or “bring them to justice, because if you don’t, we will”.
Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas leaders living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing hostages still held by the group in Gaza and ending the war.
Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, has accused Israel of sabotaging chances for peace and Netanyahu of practicing “state terrorism”. A member of Qatar’s internal security forces was among those killed.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Sunday that Israel’s actions would not stop Doha’s mediation efforts with Egypt and the United States.
TRUMP HAS SAID ATTACK WON’T BE REPEATED
U.S. President Donald Trump has signalled unhappiness over the Israeli attack, saying it did not advance Israeli or U.S. goals, calling Qatar a close ally working hard to broker peace.
He also said eliminating Hamas was “a worthy goal”. After the attack, he told Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil”.
The UAE was the most prominent of several Arab states to normalise ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, brokered with U.S. backing during Trump’s first term in office.
The deal normalising ties between the UAE and Israel marked the first time an Arab state had established relations with Israel since Jordan’s 1994 peace agreement.
Egypt was the first Arab state to normalize ties with Israel in 1979, after signing a peace treaty.
The UAE on Friday summoned the deputy Israeli ambassador over the attack and subsequent remarks by Netanyahu which it described as hostile.
It has described Qatar’s stability as an “inseparable part of the security and stability of the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council”. The council includes Saudi Arabia, which has said it will not establish ties with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Andrew Mills in Doha, Writing by Andrew Mills and Tom Perry; Editing by Ros Russell)