The Regional Implications of Israel's Strikes in Qatar

Israel's airstrikes in Qatar will likely harden the stances of Iranian-backed groups, keep normalization with Saudi Arabia off the table and drive more assertive postures from other regional states. In the past few days, Qatari authorities, other countries in the region, European states and even the United States -- reportedly informed of the attack only as it was taking place -- all condemned Israel’s Sept. 9 airstrikes in Doha. The Israeli airstrikes in Doha did not succeed in killing the Hamas leaders Israel was targeting, though six others were killed. The incident was the first Israeli attack on a close U.S. ally in modern times. It was all the more significant given Qatar's designation as a major non-NATO ally of the United States, a status that signifies the closest security ties Washington can have with a foreign country that is not a NATO member. ...