SVG
Commentary
The Free Press

Why Trump Let Netanyahu Strike Hamas in Doha

The US President and the Israeli Prime Minister have developed a good copbad cop routine.

michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
The Free Press: Why Trump Let Netanyahu Strike Hamas in Doha  By Michael Doran  September 16, 2025
Caption
Sitting with President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 7, 2025. (Getty Images)

On Monday, Qatar hosted an emergency Arab-Islamic summit to address Israel’s attack on Hamas leaders in Doha. Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani denounced the strikes as “barbaric” and called for an end to the “double standard” applied to Israel. Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit added that “silence on a crime is a crime.”

In the United States, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders last week called for ending U.S. military aid to Israel. “Netanyahu’s extremist government is completely out of control,” he posted on X. “Not only are they starving children in Gaza, they are now breaking international law by dropping bombs on Qatar, a U.S. security partner.”

Read in The Free Press.