Journalism of Courage
The Israeli Prime Minister’s office has denied a US media report that the White House, with input from a close ally of the Qatari Prime Minister, wrote Benjamin Netanyahu’s apology over the air strike in Doha.
“This is fake news. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s remarks in his conversation with the Qatari Prime Minister were determined by the Prime Minister himself, in consultation only with his professional team,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Earlier, Politico had also reported that “a powerful Qatari interlocutor and close ally of the country’s prime minister” was in the Oval Office with Trump and Netanyahu to make sure the Israeli leader stayed on script.
The clarification from Netanyahu’s office, however, acknowledged that the said Qatari official was present in the White House.
“As for the Qatari official — he was present only during the call at the invitation of the American team, and there was no contact whatsoever with the Israeli team,” the statement said.
Trump hosted Benjamin in the White House on September 29, where he initiated a trilateral phone call, which also involved Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani of Qatar. Netanyahu apologised to the Qatari Prime Minister for the airstrike and expressed regret over the death of a Qatari Security personnel in the attack.
After the White House meeting, the US President announced his 20-point Gaza peace plan which has been accepted by all sides.
Israel had carried out an airstrike in the Qatari capital Doha on September 9, targeting Hamas leaders, as they were meeting to discuss a peace deal proposed by Trump.
Despite the surprise attack, Israel failed to achieve its goal as the top Hamas leadership escaped unhurt.
However, the backlash was quick as countries around the world quickly condemned the attack. The airstrike was also denounced by the US and Trump himself reassured Qatar that such an attack won’t happen again.
Israel had initially tried to claim victory, saying the country managed to send a message to Hamas that they won’t be safe anywhere. But after Qatar backed out of the Gaza mediation efforts, Trump forced Netanyahu to speak to his Qatari counterpart from the White House.
It was reported that Qatar had set an apology from Netanyahu as a precondition to resume the stalled peace efforts.
After Israel and Hamas accepted Trump’s 20-point peace plan, Qatar is playing a major role in the negotiations, which are currently underway in Egypt.
