Arab states rally around Qatar following Israeli attack on Doha

Arab states rallied around Qatar on Wednesday, following Israel's attack targeting Hamas officials in Doha.

Leading officials from Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are set to visit Doha just one day after the attack, as Arab allies rally around the Gulf state following the brazen Israeli bombing on Qatari soil.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan arrived in Doha on Wednesday afternoon, the state agency WAM reported, in what was described as a show of solidarity with Qatar following the strikes.

Al-Nahyan reportedly met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, reaffirming Abu Dhabi's "resolute solidarity with Qatar and its steadfast support for all measures taken to safeguard its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of its people".

The Emirati leader also said that Israel’s strike on Doha was a "criminal attack" and "constituted a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and of all international laws and norms, warning that such actions threaten the region’s security, stability, and prospects for peace".

The UAE signed a normalisation agreement with Israel in 2020, with strong relations between the two countries since then tested by the war in Gaza and regional aggression by Israeli forces.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to arrive in Doha on Thursday, an official with knowledge of the visits told Reuters.

Various reports confirmed that the visits were not previously planned and were part of a regional show of solidarity with Qatar.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia were engaged in a four-year diplomatic crisis with Qatar, starting with a blockade on the Gulf state in 2017 which was resolved with the 2021 Al-Ula Statement.

Israel’s surprise attack on Tuesday sent shockwaves around the region, particularly in the Gulf, when a busy Doha neighbourhood was targeted at 4pm local time. The attack was condemned by governments and countries around the world, including by Arab and Palestinian officials.

Israel confirmed it was behind the attack which struck a residential building where leaders were meeting to discuss the terms for a Gaza ceasefire. Israel further confirmed it had been planning the strike for "several months".

Change in dynamics? 

Arab states visiting Qatar signals a change in the dynamics between the countries, particularly following the 2017 diplomatic crisis, which saw Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt all breaking ties with Qatar, after accusing it of "supporting terrorism".

Doha, at the time, denied the charges, as well as accusations that it was conspiring with Iran.

However, the crisis saw the states close their land borders, airspace and territorial waters to the country, and presented a list of 13 demands to be met, including "stop all funding of terrorism".

The demands were rejected by Qatar, who said it was an effort to force them into surrendering their sovereignty.

The visit from Arab leaders to Qatar following the attack has also raised questions over the future of the Abraham Accords, which saw normalisation between Arab states and Israel despite widespread opposition among the public in the Arab world.

Gulf states are reportedly rattled by the strike with people in these countries expressing sympathy with Qatar.

Both the UAE and Bahrain signed the controversial accords with Israel in September 2020, while Sudan and Morocco followed suit in the months after.

Palestinians view the accords as a betrayal of their cause, and normalisation has come under further scrutiny around the Middle East following Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, which started in October 2023.

Since the start of the war, which has been determined to be a genocide by several international rights groups, many organisations have publicly called on Arab states to withdraw from the accords and end all military coordination with Israel.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 64,656 Palestinians and wounded over 163,503 others since October 2023.