Until now, Israel has played by Western rules in its conflict with the Palestinians. Now, with the attack on a Hamas apartment in Doha, it has abandoned those rules and is now behaving more in accordance with the rules of its violent neighborhood. More on this change can be found here: “The Doha message: Israel’s Qatar strike shows it speaks the language of the Middle East – analysis,” by Alex Winston, Jerusalem Post, September 10, 2025:
For decades, Israel has attempted to hold its conduct to Western standards. Diplomatically, it has looked to the West as a model for democracy and its military operated within the constraints of Western diplomatic norms. These include measured responses, careful escalation ladders, and endless rounds of negotiations that often reward the very actors who orchestrate violence against Israeli civilians. Tuesday’s strike in Doha may mark a fundamental shift: Israel speaking the language the Middle East actually understands.
That is, Israel unilaterally launched a surprise attack, against a site in a country that, officially, had not threatened Israel. But of course a moment’s thought leads to the conclusion that Qatar is indeed a mortal enemy of Israel. It funds pro-jihad mosques throughout the world. It supports and protects the leaders of a terror group, Hamas, that is solemnly committed in its charter to the destruction of the Jewish state. Those Hamas leaders have been living securely in Qatar since 1914. Qatar has provided Hamas in that time with the colossal sum of $1.8 billion. Qatar funds the rabidly anti-Israel and antisemitic Al-Jazeera network of broadcasting stations, newspapers, and websites.
The assassination attempt against Hamas leaders in the Qatari capital, including acting leader Khalil al-Hayya, former head Khaled Mashaal, and finance chief Zaher Jabarin, was a declaration that the rules of engagement have changed.
The Israelis are no longer willing to wait to respond to attacks before launching their own in response. There are no longer “rules of engagement” which they feel compelled to observe. If they sense a growing danger, they won’t wait to respond but will always, when they are able, preempt it. Hamas was meeting to discuss what terms it would accept in order to free the hostages and end the war in Gaza. But that seemingly innocuous discussion takes place in a context of Hamas’ continuing campaign in Gaza, and its promise to strike Israel “again and again,” just as it did on October 7, 2023. This strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar had been in the planning stages for months. The killing of six Israelis by terrorists at a bus stop in Jerusalem was all the excuse the Israelis needed to launch their own attack.
Israel did not ask for America’s approval to conduct its attack in Qatar. Nor did it let the Americans know about the attack in advance; the American military in the Middle East picked up the signs of the attacking planes and informed Steve Witkoff, who informed the President. The Americans informed Qatar of the attack ten minutes after it was over.
The Israeli attack on Hamas in Qatar had been planned for months, and the terror attack that killed six people in Jerusalem, and the grenade attack that killed four members of an IDF tank crew were all the pretext Israel needed to launch the attack.
Trump expressed his displeasure at the Israeli attack on Hamas in Qatar, but his words were relatively constrained. The attack, he said, did not further the interests either of the United States or Israel. He was, he said, “not happy” with the raid. Most countries, by contrast, expressed their “horror” or denounced the attack as a “violation of international law.” Those who said that have apparently forgotten that the Americans had invaded Pakistan to kill the arch-terrorist Osama bin Laden, and no one at the time though that operation was a “violation of international law.”
There is no difference in policy or strategy between Hamas’ civilian leaders, ensconced luxuriously in Qatar, and its military leaders in their warren of tunnels in Gaza. The civilian leaders were delighted with the atrocities carried out by Hamas’ military wing on October, 7, 2023, and continue to push for the same goals, as their latest proposal made clear, as the military leaders: a complete cessation of the hostilities and a complete withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza, which would rightly be seen as a victory for Hamas.
Qatar pretends to be a good-faith mediator, deserving of American gratitude for assuming this responsibility, but for more than a decade it has been, and remains, the chief supporter and financier of Hamas.
Doha is 1,800 kilometers from Tel Aviv. The ten Israeli planes that struck the Hamas meeting-house in Doha thus had to fly 3,600 kilometers, almost all of it through the Saudi airspace. That’s a warning: the long hand of the IDF can strike its enemies anywhere, and has done so, from Entebbe to eastern Iran. Hamas leaders can’t be safe if Israel is willing even to strike them in Qatar, defying the United States, the government of which believes — wrongly — that Qatar is its “friend and ally.” What would hold the IDF and Mossad back from striking at perceived enemies in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE, all of which Washington naively regards as “friends and allies.”
We already know that the IDF bombs at will the Houthis in Yemen, and continues to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon, hoping to so weaken it that the Lebanese National Army (LNA) will be able to take over the task of forcing Hezbollah to give up its weapons so that the LNA will have a monopoly on violence.
As long as Netanyahu remains prime minister, Israel’s goal in Gaza will not change: total victory, which means Hamas must give up its weaponry, and its leaders leave Gaza permanently. Israel’s raid in Doha shows just how far it will go, and even if the attack did not kill all those who were on the list of targets, the very fact of the attack, undertaken without American approval, must send the message: we are prepared to act unilaterally, and our arm is very long.
SKA says
Qatar can no more be a “friend and ally” than a Cobra could be an affectionate and safe pet!
gravenimage says
+1
Siddi Nasrani says
This is how to treat them.
North China Herald, 1867.
” If politeness & ceremony be observed towards Mohammadans, they imagine they are feared & become arrogant; But in showing severity & rudeness, they are impressed with fear & respect, & they are supple & manageable .
OLD GUY says
You can ad Saudi Arabia ti that list.
Wellington says
Recalling Barry Goldwater in 1964 who was horribly defamed by LBJ and others, “”Extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
True then. True now. True for all time. That is if one wishes to keep true freedom alive and well.
N.B. The ignorant will not grasp this and, quite unfortunately, many monumentally ignorant people are in charge of the West today. Fortunately at present neither America nor Israel is but this could change very soon since foolish parasites among the human species abound in the West. Damn it, they’re everywhere and the traditional authoritarians ruling countries like China and Russia, as well as the usual culprits in the Islamic world, relish the prospect of people like Macron, Carney and Starmer being at the helm in Western nations. You bet these rogues do.
RegT says
+1
Shalom says
Amazing post.
James Lincoln says
Since Qatar was “aiding and abetting” Hamas leaders, Israel and its IAF had every right to enter Qatar and take out the Hamas leaders.
Every right.
Remember when Pakistan was “aiding and abetting” Osama bin Laden?
Until he was taken out by US Navy SEALs…
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Perfect parallels!
James Lincoln says
Thank you for the kind words, Infidel.
gravenimage says
+1
Winston 101 says
Perfect and helpful.
Two-faced Qatar can’t have it both ways.
If you harbor those that attack us
we will kill them in your country.
If you don’t want the problem
don’t harbor the problem.
abu taleb says
Which country gives food and gives warning before an attack to its enemy during a war?
I believe, only one country. We all know the answer, right?
gravenimage says
+1
Patrick says
Israel is on the right path, the right frame of mind, destroy Hamas to obtain lasting peace. Control all of Israel, including GAZA, West Bank. Judea, Samaria, Israel whole. Arab Muslims will always be a threat.
JS says
It’s so unfortunate that Trump thinks Qatar is an ally (or just wants to keep “the deal”) and I’m a Trump supporter.
Has anyone yet looked into the new “privileges” of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation or OIC?
I have and they are dangerous and have now have Full Observer in the UN and EU. There’s SO MUCH MORE and it should not be ignored by us.
Why do we wait until the problem is so big and more difficult ?
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Trump’s modus operandi is reminiscent of a Silicon Valley cliche: “If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, every problem will look like a nail”. While the US has a lot of tools, his metaphorical hammer is “tariffs”
But Hamas wouldn’t care about tariffs – they hardly make anything that we buy, and Israel already has fair trade dealings w/ the US. Qatar otoh has money to not just pay the tariffs, but also the lifetime salaries of the tariff collecting officers. So that would be like using the hammer when an allen wrench is what’s needed
As for the OIC, they were always big, since there are 50 muslim countries and 7 non-muslim ones that are members. Since the Cold War ended (when the communist bloc was the biggest bloc there), the OIC has been the biggest bloc of countries in the UN. That’s one, but not the only reason, why the UN needs to die. The EU too, for a very different reason. Chancellor Helmut Kohl wanted to make it a super-state, but what it ended up doing was distancing decision-making from the localities in all the different countries, including Germany, and enabling suicidal policies like the mass admission of muslims into Europe. That organization needs to die as well
I’m hoping a post Trump president like JD Vance will understand this problem better. Charlie Kirk was almost there, but is alas gone. We need more Valentina Gomez like politicians in every district of this country
gravenimage says
Israel Now Plays By Middle Eastern Rules
………………………………..
With all respect to Hugh Fitzgerald, not really. She is still just targetng Jihad terrorists Hamas.
john says
“hold its conduct to Western standards.” Clueless. Western standards dropped atomic bombs, imprisoned jihadis without trial, dropped phosphorus bombs on civilians, took out Bin Laden without asking Pakistan. All these are justifiable war tactics but claiming Israel is somehow below western standards is absurd. They operate on a different planet to western standards in calling their enemies, dropping warning stones or leaflets, feeding them, providing them water and electricity and put up with thousands of jihad attacks without serious response.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
No, Western standards are very different from what they were in WWII or Vietnam. For instance, when the US held al-Qaeda and Taliban captives in Gitmo, there was a huge hue & cry both from the American Left and the Eurocrats about adhering to the Geneva conventions, which only apply to regular armies, not to rogue terrorists. Even so, the US claimed – and this was verified by former Gitmo prison guards who had feces thrown at them from the captives – that these captives were held humanely. Granted, the trials took ridiculously long, and a lot of them were released back into the battlefield as a result of negotiations w/ the Taliban or other islamic countries, and resumed their jihad activity: some were later killed. These were the Western rules that Israel has apparently abandoned, according to Hugh
Middle Eastern rules – you suspect someone is an enemy, you execute him! They may sometimes be given a mock trial, sometimes not. If you are a more powerful country, like Saddam’s Iraq, and you feel like grabbing a neighbor, like Kuwait, you just do it. If you are a Syrian sunni and you want payback for the 55 years of the Ba’athist regimes, just do it: nobody from UNHCR, Amnesty International or any of those trillion NGOs worldwide will say a thing, b’cos they know you will ignore them, or tell them to take a flying 🖕. Another country that plays by those Middle Eastern rules is Russia, which for all the claims of it being a European country/culture, plays exactly by Middle Eastern rules. Only that they’re not islamic, but ex-communists who have not yet let go of some of those communist values
The other thing Hugh may have been referring to – although he can clarify – is that Western countries have been loathe to touch Qatar, due to whatever reason. Israel has broken that taboo at least for Hamas agents there. They may not touch Qatar while we stupidly have our Middle East military bases in 2 of the most jihadist of countries – Turkey and Qatar (rather than countries like Israel, Bahrein, Emirates, Oman, maybe Egypt, maybe even Libya (why can’t we recognize Haftar as that countries leader: he still holds a US passport and was previously a CIA asset, and is pretty anti-jihadist). But hopefully, Israel in future directly attacks Qatari assets, even if it avoids al-Udeid. Let the Qataris be the ones forced to spend more of their money on their own defenses, and less on funding muslim brotherhood or other jihadist groups worldwide
tgusa says
“Israel Now Plays By Middle Eastern Rules”
I get that. But they can just go with Western standards of WWII US Marines and Sailors in the Pacific. We take no prisoners.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I thnk Hugh is referring to modern rules, not even the ones we had during ‘Nam. See my above response to john, about terrorists being given Geneva Convention protections, to which they weren’t entitled. When it comes to warfare, Israel would do well to stop emulating the West and start emulating Russia. The poor Ukrainians may not deserve what Putin is doing to them, but the Palis definitely would were Israel to start doing to them that very thing
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Good!
Finally, Israel should forget that it’s a part of Europe, and that it’s a part of Asia. In its neighborhood, it should be a hegemonic power that intimidates its enemies, like it did in Doha – and don’t keep Turkey off limits either. As for friends, stop looking at Europe, and look instead at the Asia east of dar-ul-islam – India, China, Mongolia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore
tgusa says
‘India, China, Mongolia, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore’
You are right except that all of those countries you mentioned are becoming increasingly worried about China.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Yeah, I was thinking more about a post-communist Chinese state, that has let go of Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Hong Kong and Manchuria. But just like may of them enjoy having special enclaves for communities – like there are mini “Chinatowns” in several countries, similarly, they’d be happy to have mini Jewish enclaves, where Jews can enjoy their own culture, but also have happy interactions w/ the locals. Like, say, in Singapore, where antisemitism is not tolerated, despite a large Malay population
Don Ameeche says
What does the Singapore administration do stop antisemitism from the Malay population ?
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Don
Singapore has a simple policy: same rules for everyone. For instance, Malays can’t go about abusing Buddhists, Hindus, Christians or even Jews (although Jews are just 0.2% of Singapore’s population) even if it is in qur’an or sunnah. End of story
On the flip side, the same rule applies to infidels in Singapore when it comes to islam. Chinese, Tamils, Daoists, other Hindus, Sikhs, et al cannot criticize the qur’an or sunnah either. I recall 3 years back Singapore being criticized for banning the Indian movie “Kashmir Files” fearing that it could escalate religious tensions b/w Hindus & muslims. Otoh, the same Singapore expelled a foreign imam for Friday sermons against Jews & Christians (apparently, Singapore’s own imams probably have to censor a lot of the qur’anic and sunnah material before they can make it)
So end result is that people like Robert, David, Ridvan, Hatun, Raymond, et al could probably get a visa to Singapore, but would also be deported if they dared say the things that they normally say in the US. It’s harsh and anti-truth (which is major), but one thing I’ll say for Singapore: they have a single set of rules for everyone, which they strictly apply. Heck, if the West as well as Israel and India did the same thing, Jihadwatch would probably just be covering events in dar ul islam, like it used to before 2011
Don Ameeche says
Thank you “infidel” for your detailed reply on Singapore !! It is greatly appreciated. Your point about Truth versus civil order there is well taken.
tgusa says
India is surrounded by enemies but India also has allies in the area. India is a very large country among the worlds countries. Number 7 in geographic area.
But still, India just doesn’t seem to get it.
tgusa says
https://www.worldometers.info/geography/largest-countries-in-the-world/
࿗Infidel࿘ says
They have a really stupid leadership, no matter which party. Also, Modi has grown senile – no offences to those of you here 75 or older
tgusa says
Yes they do. I have no idea what to do about that.
loek de vette says
Hi Hugh, In the above comment you write: “Those Hamas leaders have been living securely in Qatar since 1914.”.I presume you mean 2014? Excellent article, thank you,
Don Ameeche says
GREAT Article by Hugh Fitzgerald !! Well articulated points.
d says
Great article Hugh !! This effort seems similar to that which took out Hamas leadership in Tehran too.