UAE Summons Israeli Envoy Over Deadly Strike On Qatar

The United Arab Emirates said it summoned Israel’s deputy ambassador on Friday, in a formal rebuke of his country’s deadly attack against Hamas leaders in the Gulf neighbour Qatar.

The UAE, along with Bahrain, was the first Gulf country to normalise ties with Israel in 2020 and has been a frequent critic of its actions since the start of the Gaza war.

It issued sharp condemnations of Tuesday’s deadly strike on Qatar.
Friday’s rare summoning was the strongest in a chorus of condemnations as anger boils in the Gulf over Israel’s strike on a region long shielded from Middle Eastern conflicts.

“Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, summoned the Israeli Deputy Head of Mission in the United Arab Emirates, David Ohad Horsandi,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

She used the meeting to “strongly condemn and denounce the blatant and cowardly Israeli attack that targeted the State of Qatar, as well as the hostile statements made by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,” the statement said.

“Any aggression against a GCC member state constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework,” she added, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council regional bloc.