Opinion With strike on Qatar, Israel can no longer hide its aggression behind a narrative of victimhood

Yet, what enrages even more is the US response — or lack thereof. President Trump described himself as “very unhappy” and called the attack “unfortunate,” but offered no meaningful pushback. He claimed to have been informed only minutes before the strike and only then alerted the Qataris, though Doha insists it received no such warning. For all intents and purposes, Washington has let Israel thumb its nose at both regional stability and American interests, sidelining mediation and empowering unilateral aggression.

This is no longer about strategic self-defence. It’s about entitlement. Israel’s Defense Minister proclaimed that the country would now target its enemies “everywhere”. The message is clear: State-led violence disguised as statecraft, backed by a perennial “victim” narrative. The result? A chilling expansion of the “forever victim” logic, where historical suffering becomes carte blanche for modern atrocity.

Israel’s claim of perpetual victimhood parallels a grotesque moral inversion. The Holocaust was an atrocity that demands remembrance and respect, but to weaponise that tragedy to justify mass killings and collective punishment is simply not defensible. It’s reprehensible.

Witness the Gaza catastrophe: Relentless bombing, mass displacement, and civilian death. The term “genocide” is no abstraction. Israel’s assault has devastated civilian infrastructure, leading to overwhelming humanitarian suffering and the world’s foremost genocide experts have termed Israel a genocidal state for its actions of mass starvation and destruction in Gaza.

And where is the US in all this? In theory, America should be the arbiter of restraint, the voice urging adherence to diplomatic norms. Instead, it’s reduced to a phlegmatic witness. Worse, in this case, Washington has undercut its credibility by ignoring the breach of international law and setting aside Qatar’s strategic value for the region.

Qatar has responded with defiance. Despite the betrayal, receiving word of the attack only after bombs were falling, it insisted its mediation role will persist. That Qatar stands firm, when others waver, should be a wake-up call: Peace cannot be the preserve of the powerful or the heedless.

From a political lens, this episode marks a disquieting shift. Israel has turned a theatre of violence into a backdrop for arrogance. Ceasefire talks underway in Doha became targets themselves. For Israel, negotiation zones are fair targets when they serve one’s narrative. This is no longer politics seeking peace. It’s the politics of dominance and daring.

And yet, some quarters still cling to the fig leaf of “Israel has the right to defend itself”. This would be true in a balance of power scenario anchored by restraint and respect. But today’s reality is a high-handed precedent. Any Arab state, no matter its alignment, could be next. This is state-on-state aggression, cloaked in a war against terrorism, but devoid of legitimacy.

Such acts shouldn’t be confined to Middle East columns. They should echo in every capital where norms matter. For India, which has historically walked a fine line between strategic relations with Israel, the Arab world, and the United States, a calibrated response is imperative. New Delhi cannot afford to remain silent when a trusted partner like Qatar — home to a large Indian diaspora and a crucial energy supplier — is subjected to such a violation. Nor can India align itself blindly with a precedent that erodes international law and undermines sovereign guarantees.

If India thinks that doing so will somehow give it cover for its interests in Pakistan, it would do well to note that Israel actually doesn’t care for anyone but itself. A principled, nuanced stance, one that upholds the inviolability of sovereignty while continuing to engage all parties, is both in India’s long-term national interest and in keeping with its role as a responsible global power. This is all the more important as India deepens ties across West Asia. If diplomacy is predicated on trust, then trust cannot survive when it is bombed into rubble under the guise of strategic necessity.

Israel’s transformation, from a nation whose history commanded empathy, to one that demands acquiescence, should alarm liberals and realists alike. The liberal impulse recoils at genocide; the realist recoils at reckless destabilisation. The two should unite, not stand divided.

In closing, Israel’s strike on Doha is not only an affront to Qatar, but to the entire architecture of sovereignty and dialogue. The US must recalibrate its stance and define red lines, not merely lament their crossing. The world cannot afford a doctrine where historical suffering grants modern impunity.

The writer serves as the Global Ambassador for the Grain from Ukraine programme