After Qatar…

By Dr. Nasser Al-Laham

A reckless incident such as the Israeli bombing of Qatar cannot by itself bring about a complete change in the overall Arab stance. Rather, this incident may contribute to reshaping awareness and dispelling some illusions among a number of politicians and decision‑makers, leading to the conclusion that the U.S.–Israeli relationship is very stable while the Arab–American relationship has been unstable ever since the White House’s role in toppling President Hosni Mubarak, through the killing of the Libyan leader and the removal of the Syrian president, and so on.

The Arab reaction to the aggression would have been different if there had been a U.S. president other than the current one, Trump. Trump is neither a general who understands military matters nor a politician who understands politics; he is closer to what one might call a “social media activist” seeking “likes” and money.

The occupier’s bombing of another Arab capital with such ease is a major political disaster, especially as it is the first Gulf Arab capital to come under attack. This means that all Arab states have now become states confronting the Greater Israel project.

In my view, the bombing was not the product of a decision made in an hour, a day, or a year. Rather, it is the result of political, economic and security defeats since 1967 up to today. Were it not for these accumulations, the matter would not have been so easy for the far‑right government in Tel Aviv.

The United States under the leadership of the reckless President Trump, and Israel under the leadership of Netanyahu, who is sliding toward more violence, are capable of aborting any Arab decision issued by the Doha summit in the coming days, but:

The Israeli airstrike on Qatar has ended the fog and doubts about the existence of a Greater Israel conspiracy.

The era begun by Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres in 1995 to establish secret and open ties with Arab capitals has been ended by Netanyahu with a single strike.

The year 2025 was a great opportunity for Netanyahu to secure an acceptable exit from the Gaza war, but he squandered the chance and undermined mediation efforts to stop the war and settle the issue. What was very, very valuable this year will be for free next year.
What happened has greatly strengthened Egypt’s international and regional role and proved that many may compete with it in this role but no one can do it without Egypt.

There is no peace without Egypt and no war without Egypt.