Rubio takes up Qatar strike unease with Netanyahu

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel's vital ally voices unease over air strikes on Qatar that threaten to derail already flailing attempts to reach a Gaza ceasefire.

Rubio scheduled a solidarity visit a week before a French-led summit at the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state, a prospect fervently opposed by Netanyahu's right-wing government.

But talks will instead be more difficult as President Donald Trump's administration was caught off guard last week when Israel carried out an attack in Qatar against Hamas leaders who were meeting to discuss a new U.S. ceasefire proposal for Gaza.

Trump, for years a fervent defender of Netanyahu, on Sunday again voiced support for Qatar, which is home to the largest U.S. air base in the region and has assiduously courted the U.S. president, including by gifting a luxury jet.

"Qatar has been a very great ally. Israel and everyone else, we have to be careful. When we attack people, we have to be careful," Trump told reporters.

Rubio, who will later address the press with Netanyahu, said as he left Washington on Saturday that "obviously we're not happy" about the strike but added, "Now we need to move forward and figure out what comes next."

Rubio said he would speak to Netanyahu about Israeli military plans to seize Gaza City, the largest urban centre in the devastated territory, as well as the government's talk of annexing parts of the occupied West Bank in hopes of precluding a Palestinian state.

Rubio said Trump wants the Gaza war to be "finished with" -- which would mean the release of hostages and ensuring Hamas is "no longer a threat."

AFP