Dubai: Qatar’s prime minister denounced Israel on Sunday as foreign ministers from Arab and Muslim nations met to discuss a possible unified response to Israel’s attack on Doha targeting the leadership of the militant group Hamas.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as Qatar’s foreign minister, made the comments ahead of a meeting Monday of leaders from those nations.
Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar remained committed to working with Egypt and the United States to reach a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that’s devastated the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. However, he stressed the time had come for consequences to Israel’s attacks in the wider Middle East amid the conflict.
“It is time for the international community to stop applying double standards and punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed,” Sheikh Mohammed said in footage later released by Qatar’s government from the closed-door meeting. There was no immediate response from Israel, which is hosting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this weekend.agencies