If any state should have felt safe from an Israeli attack, it would have been Qatar.
It is a small country that poses no real threat to Israel. It is an ally of the United States and hosts the largest American military base in the Middle East.
In May, Qatar pledged to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the US economy.
Qatar has also cultivated a reputation as a peacemaker, mediating in numerous conflicts. Just last month, the Israeli Mossad director was in Doha, hosted by the Qatari government, as part of longstanding ceasefire negotiations over Gaza.
Yet this characterisation may be too simplistic.
The reality is that Qatar should never have felt safe, and nor should any other country in the region.
Israel’s attack on Qatar should be a wake-up call for the Arab world Opinion by Mohamad Elmasry
