By Itamar Eichner

Copyright ynetnews

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will depart Israel Tuesday for an unscheduled visit to Doha, the capital of Qatar. The visit comes a day after leaders of the Arab-Islamic Emergency Summit harshly condemned Israel one after another, and—against the backdrop of the failed Israeli attempt to assassinate Hamas leaders in Doha—called on “all countries of the world to reconsider their relations with Israel.” Rubio was determined to emphasize during his visit to Jerusalem that nothing had been damaged in the relationship between Israel and the United States. Washington supports Israel, and although it did not welcome the Israeli strike in Doha this did not alter the Americans’ fundamental stance: all 48 hostages must be freed, and Gaza must be freed from Hamas. Rubio did not criticize the Israeli operation in Doha. The Americans want to keep all options open. As far as is known, in Rubio’s meetings with Netanyahu there was no attempt to stop Israel from conquering Gaza City. The Americans understand the operation is underway, but they still believe that something positive might emerge: perhaps Qatar could be enlisted to lead a hostage deal that would bring about a ceasefire. The timing of the senior American’s visit to Doha is significant: he arrives just one day after the summit in which Israel was cursed and threatened—but on the other hand, no one wants to quarrel with President Donald Trump. The message is sharp and clear: Israel has America’s backing. “There’s a lot of gray here, and they’re trying to maneuver it toward a result,” a source familiar with the details said. Rubio also said that Qatar is committed to achieving the desired outcome of freeing the hostages. After his visit to Qatar, the secretary of state will join President Trump’s trip to the United Kingdom. The prevailing assessment in the international community is that, despite Qatari anger and attempts to organize a broad international front against Israel, Doha remains committed to its role as mediator and is still interested in conducting negotiations with Hamas for a deal. During the joint press conference with Rubio, Netanyahu’s messages were sharp: Israel is committed to freeing all the hostages and defeating Hamas, the operation in Qatar was not a failure (“We are still waiting for the final reports”) and, in any case, Israel’s message was conveyed—there is no immunity for terrorists anywhere. Netanyahu also took a jab at the hypocrisy of the international community, which did not criticize the United States for its actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan after 9/11. Netanyahu dodged when asked by Ynet whether he had warned the U.S. in advance about the strike in Qatar or whether the Americans learned about it from their satellites. In any case, Netanyahu absolved Washington and said the responsibility for the Doha strike was his and Israel’s alone, and that it was an independent operation. Netanyahu also issued a veiled threat to countries planning to recognize a Palestinian state: “If unilateral steps are taken against us—we will respond with unilateral steps.” The Hostages and Missing Families Forum stated: “For the third time in recent days, hostage families met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The families stressed to him that expanding the fighting endangers the lives of the living hostages and could lead to the disappearance of the fallen. They urged the Trump administration to resume negotiations as quickly as possible, with the understanding that the hostages’ time is running out.” From Netanyahu’s statements in recent days, it is evident that Israel has decided to go all-out against Qatar. This may be because of the “emergency summit” of Arab leaders, or perhaps Netanyahu concluded it serves him well against the backdrop of the ‘Qatargate’ affair, in which his advisers are suspected of ties with Doha’s government. There is an attempt to paint Qatar as an enemy state. Netanyahu is accusing both Qatar and China of waging a diplomatic and economic siege on Israel. The accusation against China is tied to concerns in Israel that it is helping Iran rebuild its nuclear program, supplying it with air defense systems, and—according to unconfirmed reports—even fighter jets. Pointing the finger at China is also meant to send a message to Trump, who regards the Asian power as a full-fledged rival.