Doha Summit: Pakistan Leads Call to Hold Israel Accountable

The recent Israeli attack on Qatari territory has shaken the core principles of international relations and demonstrated the thoughtless attitude of Tel Aviv to international standards. An air raid hit the Hamas leaders in Doha on September 9 killing five Hamas leaders, a Qatari security officer, and the son of Khalil al-Hayya, one of the senior negotiators. It was no battlefield but a secure diplomatic area where ceasefire negotiations with the support of the United States and Egypt were being sought. When Israel attacked Qatar, it was not just one of the sovereign states that Israel struck, but the concept of dialogue and mediation.

Pakistan did not lag in seeing the seriousness of the situation. During the preparatory ministerial meeting of the emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar came out with a far-ranging seven-point plan that resorted to accountability. Ishaq Dar recommended Israeli suspension in the United Nations, establishment of a joint Arab-Islamic taskforce to prevent further aggression, punitive action by the member states, permanent ceasefire with prisoner exchange, free access of humanitarian services to Gaza, and rejuvenation of a real political process towards a two-state solution. His voice was not one but it was an unmistakable warning that Pakistan, being a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, is in a unique position to turn outrage to action.

Ishaq Dar minced no words. Israel should be forced to answer to war crimes and crimes against humanity. It must not be left alone to attack Islamic nations and kill people at will. By placing Qatar in the context of a harmful cycle, his speech did not devise the situation as a single instance of aggression but as a component of a problematic trend. In Lebanon to Syria, Gaza to Yemen, Israeli actions have caused a security crisis in the Arab world. Pakistan emphasized that the attack on Doha, which is a center of mediation, was a war on diplomacy.

The emergency Arab-Islamic Summit on September 15 was attended by leaders of the Muslim world. The Israeli bombing was termed as blatant, treacherous, and cowardly by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani who added that it was an act of sabotage aimed at compromising peace and sewing the expansionist vision that Tel Aviv had. The Gulf Cooperation Council reacted by committing to deploying a shared defense mechanism. Although the real military measures are still under debate, the symbolism was evident since an assault on one member was now the assault on everyone.

This mass awakening is taking place on the background of the destruction of Gaza. Over 64,800 Palestinians are already dead and whole neighborhoods are destroyed by the war. To attack Qatar when Israel was in ceasefire negotiations is indicative of what Sheikh Tamim introduced, a madness of power, arrogance and bloodthirstiness. Not only Gaza, which is in a siege situation, but it is the whole world order of diplomacy and negotiation.

On September 11, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid a visit to Doha and confirmed the solidarity of Islamabad with Qatar. The Foreign Office has told the people over and over again how it is upset with the Israeli aggression not only towards Palestinians but also other Muslim countries whose sovereignty is infringed. Such a wide framing is significant: it shifts the Palestinian situation into a global Muslim struggle, uniting Qatar, Egypt, Malaysia, and others against the same camp.

Outside the summit, Ishaq Dar had conferences with his Egyptian and Malaysian counterparts. At the end of both meetings, there was a mutual condemnation of Israeli actions and reaffiliation of unremitting support to the Palestinian cause. As a mediator with both Qatar and the US, Egypt is aware that Israel also wanted to paralyze its attempts by attacking it. Malaysia in its turn perceives in the case of Gaza the reflection of the larger Muslim humiliation. Pakistan in both instances became a conduit into the outrage towards diplomacy.

However, discussing this topic without mentioning the larger vision of Benjamin Netanyahu would be an incomplete op-ed. The Israeli Prime Minister has not been secretive about the fact that he would wish the Arab world to become an Israeli area of influence. As the bombings in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen continue, and Israel rejects the possibility of leaving occupied areas in Syria and Lebanon, it is going to a perilous illusion far better characterized by Sheikh Tamim as dangerous. Netanyahu envisions that it is possible to remake the map of the region through intimidation and violence. But the Doha summit demonstrated otherwise: aggression can bring the Muslims together in a manner that would not have been possible through diplomacy only.

The opponents will claim that the summit gave more denunciations than undertakings. This might be correct in the short term. It would be wrong to misjudge the importance of the GCC defense commitment or the proposal by Ishaq Dar to suspend Israel from the UN. Collectively, these concepts are an indication that Muslim states are no longer happy with just rhetorical solidarity. They are investigating collective security and institutional responsibility mechanisms. Even the United States, which is the closest ally of Israel, secretly acknowledged that the Doha strike was a bridge too far. It is evident that the times are changing as the UN Security Council rarely has unanimity in condemning Israel.

One should not waste the Doha moment. When the Muslim world supports the ideas of Pakistan, Israeli impunity will finally be addressed with the help of law, diplomacy, and deterrence. Gaza has long been a bleeding wound left to Palestinians single-handedly. As Israel is dealt with recklessly today, it has been a collective wound on the Arab-Islamic world because of its irresponsible action on Qatar. It has provided a roadmap with the aggressive voice and diplomatic skill of Pakistan. It is up to the Muslim capitals now: either to allow this moment to slip by as another outrageous incident or make out of it the onset of actual responsibility.