‘Fake news’: PM’s office denies that a Qatari official wrote his apology for the Doha strike

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office dismisses a Politico report that the White House, with input from a Qatari interlocutor, wrote the premier’s apology last week to his Qatari counterpart for the Israeli strike against Hamas leaders in Doha on September 9 as “fake news.”

“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,” says the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement.

“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 PMO adds.

According to the report, which cited three people familiar with the call, “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 premier stayed on script.

Shortly after the apology took place, Trump released his plan for ending the war and announced at a press conference alongside Netanyahu that Israel and the Arab world had accepted the plan.