From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Qatari PM appears to brand Netanyahu an ‘adventurous politician who only cares about himself’
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani takes a swipe at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appearing to brand him as an “adventurous politicians who only care[s] about [his] own personal interests.”
Al-Thani was speaking regarding a potential Israeli invasion of Rafah during a press conference earlier today, asserting that Israel is the only country that supports such an operation.
“This will lead to genocide, and the international community must tell Israel enough,” the Qatari premier says.
“We cannot leave the fate of the region to adventurous politicians who only care about their own personal interests,” al-Thani says, without specifically naming Netanyahu.
Channel 12 speculates that the criticism is a response to several issues: Netanyahu-backed legislation passed by the Knesset that aims to shutter Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel; Netanyahu’s repeated claims that Qatar is not sufficiently pressuring Hamas in the hostage negotiations; and recent Israeli praise of Egypt’s role as a broker in the talks, which were seen to have purposefully neglected Qatar — the other main broker.
“Qatar’s behavior is extremely disappointing. It has not used any of the leverage it has over Hamas. And it certainly has [leverage]: it hasn’t frozen bank accounts, hasn’t exiled families of Hamas [from Qatar], nothing,” a senior Israeli official tells Channel 12.
