DOHA(National times)- Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Tuesday (Sep 9) that mediation efforts are part of the Qatari identity and nothing would deter its role in that regard, hours after Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha. Doha, along with Cairo and Washington, has been a key mediator between Israel and Hamas during the war in Gaza. “Qatar has spared no efforts and will do everything it can to stop this war in Gaza, but for current talks, I do not think there’s something valid right now after what we saw from today’s attack,” al-Thani said at a news conference. He blamed Israel for sabotaging what he said were chances for peace, sharply criticising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu whom he said practiced “state terrorism”. Netanyahu has said the attack was “entirely justified” and was ordered after an attack in Jerusalem and the loss of four Israeli soldiers in Gaza. Al-Thani said US officials first warned Qatar of the Israeli attack 10 minutes after it began, describing the strike as “100 percent treacherous.” “Qatar reserves the right to respond to this blatant attack and will take all necessary measures to respond,” he added, saying a legal team has been formed to handle the Gulf country’s response to the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UN CHIEF DECRIES ISRAELI STRIKES ON QATAR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned Israel\u2019s strikes on Qatar as a \u201cflagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity\u201d of the Persian Gulf country. \u201cWe are just learning about the Israeli attacks in Qatar, a country that has been playing a very positive role to achieve a ceasefire and release of all hostages,\u201d Guterres said during a news conference on the launch of his report on global military spending. The UN chief condemned \u201cthis flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,\u201d and urged all sides to \u201cwork towards achieving a permanent ceasefire, not destroying.\u201dOn Tuesday, Israel launched an airstrike on senior Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital Doha, a move seen as a fresh blow to efforts for a Gaza ceasefire deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DOHA(National times)- Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Tuesday (Sep 9) that mediation efforts are part of the Qatari identity and nothing would deter its role in that regard, hours after Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha. Doha, along with Cairo and Washington, has been a key mediator between Israel and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-111767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n