Israel's leaders are doubling down on (indirect) threats toward Qatar after Tuesday's surprise strike on a Doha home and office which killed five top Hamas leaders and negotiators.
Qatari leaders have expressed outrage over the violation of their country's sovereignty, but Israeli Ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, has said Wednesday that Israel could strike Qatar again if it harbors terrorists - though oddly, the Hamas team was there as part of public US-backed diplomatic talks.
"If we didn’t get them this time, we’ll get them the next time," Amb. Leiter told Fox News. He further declared that the strikes on Qatar's capital might "actually advance the efforts for a ceasefire and peace." President Trump had actually said something similar.
"Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism," the Israeli diplomat said. "They'll get over it. And Israel is being changed for the better. The region is being changed for the better as we remove these enemies of peace and these enemies of Western civilization from their ability to implement terrorism," he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said something similar, which is sure anger Qatari leaders further. "I say to Qatar and all countries that provide shelter to terrorists, either deport them or bring them to justice. Because if you don't, we will," he said.
And referencing 9/11 memorial events in the Wednesday comments, Netanyahu said: "Tomorrow is September 11th. We remember September 11th. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst crime on American soil since the founding of the United States. We also have September 11th."
He continued, "We remember October 7th. On that day, Islamist terrorists committed the worst crime against the Jewish people since the Holocaust. What did America do in the wake of September 11th? It promised to hunt down the terrorists who committed this terrible crime, wherever they may be."
This suggests Israel believes itself to have 'freedom of action' to conduct 'counter-terror' operations across the whole region.
Netanyahu gave his televised address in English:
Meanwhile, Qatar's relations with the US also looked strained, as its Foreign Ministry has rejected that the country was notified of the attack ahead of time. "I completely reject that the Americans informed us before the attack. Israel's action is a terrorist act," a statement said. This despite Doha hosting US CENTCOM operational headquarters, and having close ties with US intelligence as well as Gulf GCC countries.
The Abraham Accords could unravel, or at the very least it is not expected the Trump-brokered pact will expand.