Analysis: Rubio faces having to get diplomacy back on track after ‘disaster’ in Doha
By Sally Lockwood, correspondent in Jerusalem
This is a solidarity visit by America at a time Israel is growing increasingly isolated on the world stage.
It’s also damage control by America’s top diplomat.
An attempt to calm tensions in the Middle East and reign in Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel attacked a Hamas residence in Qatar.
Publicly it was a display of unity by Marco Rubio answering questions from journalists alongside Israel’s prime minister.
But the words and messaging were carefully choreographed. Netanyahu was at pains to emphasise that the decision to bomb Qatar was Israel’s alone but he also doubled down on this, refusing to rule out further strikes.
“We sent a message to the terrorists – you can run but you can’t hide,” he said.
Marco Rubio was keen to sweep over the diplomatic disaster in Doha, saying “we are focused on what happens now, what happens next, what role Qatar can play”.
America’s secretary of state has a heck of a job this week trying to repair relationships and get diplomacy back on track.
For now, ceasefire talks are completely off. Trust totally eroded. How do you negotiate with individuals you’ve attempted to kill?
The goodwill of Qatar hosting the talks and playing the critical role of mediator has also been seriously tested.
It’s undermined American alliances too. Astonishingly, the US didn’t appear to know this attack was going to happen and didn’t, or couldn’t, stop it.
The concern among other Gulf States is if Israel can bomb Qatar, a key American ally and home to the biggest US airbase in the Middle East, then is anywhere in the region safe?
Watch: Could Israel’s strike harm US-Qatari relations?
Marco Rubio will head to Doha tomorrow where an emergency summit of Arab leaders is currently taking place in response to Israel’s actions.
A draft resolution suggests leaders are set to warn Israel that the normalisation of relations between Israel and Arab neighbours is under threat.
Today is the 5th Anniversary of the Abraham Accords, the peace deals carved out by Donald Trump during his first term in office, formalising diplomatic relations between Israel and some Arab nations including the UAE. Trump has called them one of his proudest achievements but it seems Israel’s attack in Doha has put them on life support.
Any hope of a breakthrough on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has been destroyed this week. Just when you think the situation in Gaza can’t get any worse, somehow things take another dire turn.
