Qatar quake: Israel blows another hole in Middle East security

Problem

Qatar is at least the sixth country bombed by Israel in recent months. Having not faced any repercussions for its expanding military aggression across the Middle East —and with increasing recognition among experts that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide—the Israeli government has now broken another taboo. Not only did it bomb a major Western ally, but it also struck Hamas’s negotiators as they discussed a new American proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages. Any hope for an imminent deal now seems dead, an outcome that can only be viewed as Israel’s intent given its offensive on Gaza City.

Israel’s attack breaches international law, violates Qatari sovereignty and further undermines the credibility of the Western-backed order with which Qatar has closely aligned itself. While US president Donald Trump has denied prior knowledge of the strikes, it is hard to believe that Washington lacked the ability to prevent Israel from targeting a major non-NATO ally. The incident is likely to deepen Arab Gulf and Turkish scepticism of Western security partnerships. Prospects for further regional integration will become even more tenuous. The targeting of Hamas negotiators discussing a US ceasefire plan will also further erode regional trust in Western-brokered diplomacy—mirroring Israel’s previous use of talks between Tehran and Washington to attack Iran, with US approval.

Solution

European governments need to recognise the destabilising effects of ever-escalating Israeli actions on European interests. While President Trump remains central to any de-escalation efforts, Europe must do much more to impose costs on Israel for pursuing the war in Gaza and expanding its regional belligerence. Such measures are also necessary to give practical meaning to ongoing moves toward recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Europe must also do more to ensure that its political, economic, and military ties to Israel do not make it complicit in international law violations, whether in Gaza, the West Bank or the broader region. In particular, Italy and Germany should refrain from blocking EU measures that only require a qualified majority vote.

Following the Spanish lead, European capitals should immediately:

• Enforce a full arms embargo on Israel. This needs to cover not just the transfer of arms and military support but also third-party transits through European airspace, ports, airports and military bases. 
• Expand sanctions and travel bans against Israeli individuals and organisations involved in human rights violations and war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank and anyone engaged in illegal military activity in the region.
• Suspend preferential tariff treatment for Israeli goods in the EU and the UK and ban all trade and investment relations with Israel’s illegal settlements, as called for by the International Court of Justice.
• Coordinate these steps with Arab Gulf states and Turkey to signal to both the Trump administration and Israel that, without a rapid change of course, Israel will face European and regional isolation.

Context

On 9th September, Israeli missiles slammed into a residential neighbourhood in Doha targeting Hamas’s political leadership. Five Hamas members and one Qatari security official were killed. The attacks come against the backdrop of ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, as well recent strikes in Iran. Many of those actions seemed clearly aimed at derailing European and US diplomatic efforts.