Trump calls Qatar 'a great ally', warns Netanyahu to act with caution

Following Israeli strikes that killed a Qatari officer and five Hamas members in Doha, Trump praised Qatar's role and urged Israel to exercise restraint

US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be “very, very careful”, while reaffirming that Qatar is a “great ally” of the United States.

 

While departing Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump told reporters that Netanyahu “has to be very, very careful”, in response to a question about what message he would convey to the Israeli leader. “My message is that they have to be very, very careful. They have to do something about Hamas. But Qatar has been a great ally to the United States. A lot of people don’t know that,” Trump said.

Qatari Emir a wonderful person: Trump

Trump further said that the Qatari Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is a “wonderful person”. “I told the Emir, who I think is a wonderful person, you need better public relations, because you don’t really get the public relations. I mean, people talk of it so badly, and they shouldn’t. Qatar has been a very great ally, so Israel and everybody else — we have to be careful. When we attack people, we have to be careful,” he said. 

Qatar won’t tolerate security violations: PM

His comments come shortly after Israeli strikes last week killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer in Doha. According to a report by Al Jazeera, the strikes occurred while Hamas members were meeting in their Doha office to discuss a deal proposed by Trump to end Israel’s two-year war on Gaza.

 

On Sunday, at the preparatory ministerial meeting for the emergency Arab-Islamic Summit on the Israeli attack, Qatari Prime Minister Jassim Al-Thani stressed that Qatar would not tolerate any violation of its sovereignty or threat to its national security.