And so Israel has struck again.
On Tuesday, the Middle East’s favourite perennial aggressor launched missiles against the Qatari capital of Doha, targeting Hamas leaders involved in negotiations surrounding a proposal from the United States for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli genocide of Palestinians has officially killed more than 64,000 people in less than two years.
To be sure, Israel has never been a fan of ceasefires – even ones proposed by the reigning global hegemon and most devout backer of Israeli atrocities. After all, the state’s very existence is predicated on wiping out Palestinians and engaging in unceasing belligerence.
And while anyone harbouring an iota of common sense will have long regarded Israel as a rogue state, the unprecedented attack on Qatar appears to have opened some international eyes with regard to just how out of control the Israeli government actually is.
For instance, world powers like Britain, France, and India – which have to varying degrees enabled the genocide in Gaza, among other acts of terror by the Israeli military across the region – have managed to muster uncharacteristic condemnation following the Doha strike.
This is not to imply, of course, that targeting Hamas leaders in a country that happens to host the largest US military base in the Middle East is somehow more morally appalling than slaughtering tens of thousands of people in Gaza, most of them women and children.
It is simply to observe that even apologists for Israel’s genocidal recklessness seem to have drawn a new red line – which is that the Israelis can’t simply go around bombing people and places as they see fit.
Following the strike on Doha, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced that “unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals”.
Lest we rush to accord any sense of logic or reason to the current White House, Leavitt went on to add the disclaimer: “However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza, is a worthy goal.”
For his part, US President Donald Trump has now “assured” the Qataris that “such a thing will not happen again on their soil”, in Leavitt’s words.
And yet Qatar would be forgiven for feeling somewhat less than “assured”, given that it has already been made quite clear that Trump has forfeited control over what Israel does or does not do on other people’s soil.
As a testament to this reality, Israel’s aptly named Defence Minister Israel Katz took to social media on Wednesday to warn that “Israel’s long arm will act against its enemies anywhere. There is no place where they can hide.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has meanwhile explicitly threatened Qatar, suggesting that this may not be the last the emirate sees of Israeli missiles: “I say to Qatar and all nations who harbour terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice – because if you don’t, we will.”
As usual, then, the country with the present monopoly on regional terrorism – not to mention nearly eight decades of Israeli ethnic cleansing, dispossession, and massacres of Palestinians – has taken the liberty of deciding whom to assign the role of “terrorists” and then attack.
Considering Israel’s utterly mendacious definition of “terrorism”, it’s not only Qatar that needs to worry. As Netanyahu himself said, “all nations who harbour terrorists” are eligible for Israel’s version of “justice”, which in the end generally amounts to war crimes and wanton violations of international law.
As Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday, Israel had conducted military attacks on no fewer than six countries in the past 72 hours alone. In addition to Palestine and Qatar, the “soil” of Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen had also been graced with Israel’s penchant for destruction.
Now, it’s anyone’s guess as to who might be safe from Israel’s “long arm” – but the possibilities are few and far between. Decades ago, the Israeli spy agency Mossad had already shown itself to be perfectly comfortable with assassinating Palestinians on European soil. And now that there’s a full-blown genocide on in Gaza, the more “terrorists” that can be detected abroad, the better for Israel in terms of distracting from and validating its blood-drenched operations.
Israel may currently pride itself on the total impunity it enjoys, and its ability to wreak devastating havoc at will. But while it remains to be seen what other diabolical manoeuvres the “long arm” has up its sleeve, Netanyahu’s effective declaration of war on the world should at least serve as a wake-up call to those still wooed by the lethal oxymoron of Israeli “justice.”
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
