75 percent of Israelis approve of strikes targeting Hamas in Qatar
75 percent of Israelis approve of strikes targeting Hamas in Qatar
A large majority of Israelis, 75 percent, approve of their country’s attack on the Qatari capital Doha, despite widespread international condemnation.
New polling released by Israeli newspaper Maariv conducted by Lazar Studies said that only 11 percent were opposed to the operation that targeted the Hamas political leadership.
Thirty-eight percent said they believed the action harmed the chances of securing a deal for the release of captives in Gaza, compared to 37 percent who thought it would be helpful.
Some 65 percent of those who support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government said they thought it would help reach a deal, while 60 percent of opposition supporters said it would not.
Qatari prime minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said Israel’s strikes on Qatari soil on Monday constituted “state terror” and that Netanyahu should be "brought to justice".
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Thani said he had “no words to express how enraged we are”.
The prime minister added that he had met with the family of one of the Israeli captives the morning Israel launched the air strikes and recalled how they told him they were “counting" on the mediation that Qatar was brokering.
“They have no other hope for that [release of captives],” Thani said. “I think what Netanyahu has done yesterday, he just killed any hope for those hostages”.
Netanyahu has expressed no regret for Israel's attack and pledged to target Qatar and any country that harbours “terrorists”. He said that if they didn’t bring them to justice or expel them, Israel would.
'Solidarity with Qatar'
Israel's strikes on Doha on Tuesday targeted a meeting of leaders from Hamas's political bureau who were meeting to discuss a ceasefire proposal for Gaza, where nearly 65,000 people have been killed since the war broke out.
Israel's war on the enclave has been deemed a genocide by scholars and human rights bodies.
None of the Hamas leadership targeted in the strike was killed or wounded, but Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya's son, an office assistant and a Qatari security officer were among the six killed in the strikes.
Regional and global allies have rallied to support Qatar after the attacks.
The United Arab Emirates on Friday summoned the Israeli ambassador over the attacks, according to Reuters.
The UN Security Council issued a statement ahead of Thursday’s emergency meeting, agreed to by all 15 members, including the US.
“The members of the Security Council expressed their condemnation of the recent strikes in Doha, the territory of a key mediator, on 9 September. They expressed deep regret at the loss of civilian life,” said the statement drafted by France and the United Kingdom.
"Ccouncil members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar, in line with the principles of the UN Charter,” it added.
