Only hours separated Benjamin Netanyahu’s triumphant boasting of his army’s “precise achievements” from the news that Israel had failed in its attempt to assassinate Hamas’s negotiating delegation in the Qatari capital.
Twelve Israeli warplanes fired missiles at the villa where the delegation was meeting. The attack failed to eliminate its intended targets, though it did wound several escorts — including the son of Dr. Khalil al-Hayya.
The brief euphoria within Israel’s political and security establishment — celebrated even by the so-called “traditional opposition” — quickly collapsed into severe embarrassment. Netanyahu responded with renewed threats, vowing to continue his campaign of assassinations.
An Attack on Arab Sovereignty
“No one is immune,” Netanyahu declared, justifying his blatant violation of the sovereignty of an Arab state not at war with Israel. Qatar has consistently served as a mediator, with U.S. blessing, in the course of Israel’s latest aggression. By targeting Doha, Netanyahu effectively declared that all Arab capitals are vulnerable under Israel’s doctrine of redrawing the map of the Middle East in pursuit of its expansionist aims.
The strike was not only an attempt on Hamas’s negotiators but a strike at diplomacy itself — undermining political mediation and exposing Israel’s determination to continue its criminal wars against the region.
In reality, this was an attack on two Arab mediators, Qatar and Egypt, and an insult to Arab sovereignty as a whole. It was also, indirectly, a blow to Donald Trump, whose latest initiative was being discussed by the very delegation Israel tried to assassinate.
Yet this should not surprise anyone. American presidents have long endured Netanyahu’s insults, swallowing them in silence — with one exception, when Barack Obama allowed a UN Security Council resolution to pass condemning Israeli settlements as violations of international law.
The Silence of Arab Leaders
If U.S. presidents tolerate humiliation for the sake of Zionist lobbying power, what excuse do Arab rulers have for their silence in the face of such affronts? Why do they hide behind statements of condemnation and expressions of “concern,” when they hold cards powerful enough to deter Israel? If not to protect their regimes from looming dangers, then at least to safeguard their internal stability.
Some want to believe Trump’s claim that Washington did not give Israel a green light. But even his vice president hinted otherwise, remarking that “something positive” came from the attack — namely the attempt to eliminate what he called “a bad leadership,” referring to the Hamas delegation.
Assassinations Never End Resistance
History shows that Israel’s obsession with assassination has never ended Palestinian resistance. Since the early 1970s, the occupation has assassinated leaders of the Palestine Liberation Organization in European capitals, killed most of Fatah’s founding generation — including Yasser Arafat — and targeted the leadership of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other factions. Yet the struggle never ceased. Each time, new leaders emerged with the same steadfastness as their predecessors.
The same pattern holds with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Ansar Allah, and other movements. Israel has even assassinated sitting prime ministers, yet none of these operations forced surrender.
The latest failed attempt only reinforces this reality: Israel can kill men, but not the idea of liberation.
Global Condemnation, Local Defiance
While the West may not sympathise with those targeted, the world cannot ignore the legal and moral implications of Israel’s actions. The failed Doha strike triggered a wave of international outrage, adding to the tsunami of condemnation already facing Israel.
Netanyahu’s far-right government shows no concern for the lives of captives in Gaza or the demands of Israeli society. His reckless pursuit of illusory goals has failed repeatedly after two years of devastation.
Meanwhile, under relentless bombardment, the people of Gaza declare their refusal to be uprooted. They remain in their homes, rejecting Israeli warnings to evacuate, determined to resist ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Negotiations After the Strike
Will the failed assassination derail negotiations? It is likely that the resistance will continue to engage, but now with even stronger resolve to uphold its conditions: ending the genocide, withdrawing Israeli forces, and allowing humanitarian aid to flow.
What is expected, however, is a decline in the roles of the Arab mediators — Egypt and Qatar — leaving the stage to Washington. For the U.S. to succeed, it must abandon its one-sided bias and stop serving as Israel’s cover.
