Qatari PM’s close ally helped pen Netanyahu apology, was present for call – report
PM’s office rejects ‘fake news’ but confirms Qatari official was in room during apology call over Doha airstrike; report says he was there to ensure PM stayed on script
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The White House — with input from Qatar — wrote Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apology last week to his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani for the Israeli strike in Qatar on September 9, US media reported on Wednesday.
“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 Politico news site reported, citing three people familiar with the call.
The failed strike targeted the Hamas terror group’s political leadership.
The apology took place in a phone call made from the Oval Office that Trump organized and was present for during a meeting with Netanyahu. Shortly after the phone call, the White House released its plan for ending the war. Trump, at a press conference alongside Netanyahu, then said Israel and the Arab world had accepted the plan.
Netanyahu’s office dismissed the Politico report as “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 Prime Minister’s Office said 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 added.
Qatar reportedly conditioned the resumption of its mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas on Jerusalem’s apologizing for the airstrike.
During the call, Netanyahu “expressed his deep regret that Israel’s missile strike against Hamas targets in Qatar unintentionally killed a Qatari serviceman,” an official White House readout said.
The Israeli premier “further expressed regret that, in targeting Hamas leadership during hostage negotiations, Israel violated Qatari sovereignty and affirmed that Israel will not conduct such an attack again in the future,” it continued.
A Qatari statement, issued shortly thereafter, confirmed the call and said that Thani expressed Qatar’s refusal to tolerate violations of its sovereignty, while conveying readiness to continue its involvement in efforts to end the war in the Gaza Strip under the framework of the US president’s initiative.
Netanyahu’s apology marked an about-face from previous, repeated insistence by the premier that Jerusalem was within its rights to strike the Hamas leaders, including in the Qatari capital.
The apology was not unprecedented for the prime minister. Netanyahu has apologized both to Turkey “for any errors that could have led to loss of life” in the May 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, and to Jordan for a failed assassination attempt on Hamas official Khaled Mashaal on Jordanian soil in 1997.
Talks are being held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh over Trump’s proposal to end the war and release the 48 hostages held in the Strip. The plan also calls for Hamas to disarm and give up control of the territory to an international force as Israel withdraws its troops.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.