This is a moment of truth for Arab and Muslim governments. Israel’s attack On the goal of Katar, the Hamas leaders in Doha shocked the entire Middle East and beyond.
This is the sixth country in the region facing Israeli military aggression. In September alone, Israel launched strikes against Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Syria and Tunisia. But Qatar’s air strikes were the first Gulf country to face the United States, which is also a non-NATO ally of the United States. Almost two years after the genocide war, Israel has been waiting for Gaza, where more than 65,000 Palestinians were killed.
Expected emergency situations are high Arab/Islamic Summit Following the strike, the Doha convening will present a strong response to the murderous chaos that Israel has caused throughout the region. The extraordinary joint meeting of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference is attended by leaders and representatives of nearly 60 states representing the world’s 2 billion Muslims.
The tone at the top of the mountain was gloomy and tough. The unified position, in the declaration of unity with Qatar, condemns Israel’s attacks and condemns “genocide” of “genocide, ethnic cleansing, hunger and siege” in the Gaza Strip. This sends a strong message to Israel and the United States.
But the summit failed to take any specific measures generally expected. The long joint communiqué urged “the states to take all possible legal and effective measures to prevent Israel from continuing to take action against the Palestinian people”. It identified some of them – “imposed sanctions against it (Israel), suspended the supply, transfer or transit of weapons, ammunition and military materials, engaged in diplomatic and economic relations against it, and filed legal proceedings against it, legal proceedings against Israel”.
But this leaves countries with such measures. There was no consensus on the summit, no nations that maintained diplomatic ties with Israel to suspend diplomatic ties, nor did they close their space to Israel for flights. Even the smallest political or economic measures were not implemented. Despite all their wealth, which also controls more than a quarter of the global energy supply and geographical strategic importance, Arab countries believe that using these supplies is diplomatic leverage.
Some leaders have proposed practical actions but have taken no action. For example, Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested increasing economic pressure, recalling that it had worked in the past.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif propose Establish an Arab/Islamic Working Group to monitor and block the idea of Israeli expansionism. The Malaysian Prime Minister proposed “strict, punitive actions” but did not determine those actions. Others, including Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, have called on countries with multiple ties to Israel.
Pak-Saudi’s defense agreement is another sign of changing geopolitical dynamics and consistency.
As some Arab analysts have pointed out, perhaps the most viable summit result is the Gulf Cooperation Commission’s plan to “activate the UN Defense Mechanism”.
The Gulf Cooperation Commission members have a United Nations defense agreement under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on everyone. They plan many steps to strengthen collective security. Whether this will result in an operational collective defense system remains to be seen. However, the Pakistan-Sudi Defense Agreement announced a few days after the summit obscures its significance.
Israel’s impact on Qatar’s attacks is clear. It even eliminates the cleverest opportunity in a Gaza ceasefire to end the war. Israel is targeting the people – members of the Hamas negotiating team – who gathered to discuss a new ceasefire proposal that demands a ceasefire highlighted by Tel Aviv’s lack of interest in peace negotiations.
As Qatar ruler Sheikh Tamim Al Thani said at the summit, the attacks on mediators proved that Israel had “no real interest in peace” and tried to “thwart the negotiations.” Although the Israeli strike failed to assassinate the Supreme Hamas leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to exclude further strikes anywhere the Hamas leader was found.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio The route to Doha after visiting Tel Aviv said Washington hopes Qatar continues to play a mediation role, but the time for the armistice is exhausted. Ironically, considering that the United States has not taken any action to stop Israel from attacking Doha or condemning the strike. This is also the only obstacle to the UN Security Council’s ceasefire against Gaza, and uses veto power to ceasefire resolutions. Its latest veto was the sixth time since the war began last week, even as all other council members voted for peace.
In fact, the credibility of the United States has been hit hard by the position on the Israeli strike in Doha. If its closest allies can attack another country that has the largest U.S. military base in the region and claims to have a special relationship, it will not inspire confidence in the U.S. as a security provider in the region. States that rely on the U.S. defense umbrella are already questioning the value or reliability of security partnerships when the U.S. cannot or is reluctant to limit Israel.
The lessons learned in Qatar are also obvious. With Trump’s Attitude – Guaranteed and Given to Him with trillions of dollars in investment Boeing – No security has been purchased. Flattery is not a security guarantor.
Landmarks Strategic mutual defense defense agreement Between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, it must be seen in this context. It is a weakness in the Middle East. Negotiations for the security agreement occurred months before Israel’s strike on Qatar.
But its timing of announcements suggests that attacks on the Gulf state and Israel’s unchecked aggression in the region accelerated the signing, Riyadh sought to diversify its security partnership and Pakistan expanded its options. According to the historic deal, both countries view an attack as “an aggression of both.”
While the assessment of the far-reaching impact of the transaction will be the subject of a separate column, it is important to note here that in the unpredictable United States, blind support for Israel by the Gulf of Mexico countries enhances the reflection and consequences of security threats.
Therefore, the Saudis are taking a hedging strategy and turning to Pakistan to “combined deterrence against any aggression”. This is another sign of changing geological formatting dynamics and transfer alignments, and the consistency of these dynamics and changes fundamentally reshapes today’s regional and global landscapes.
The writer is a former ambassador to the United States, Britain and the United Nations.
Posted at Dawn on September 22, 2025
