Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief and veteran diplomat, Prince Turki al-Faisal, has issued a stark warning that the recent Israeli strike on Qatar has placed the security of Gulf states in jeopardy. Speaking at the prestigious Dean of Ambassadors Gala Dinner in Riyadh, Prince Turki condemned Israel as an illegitimate state and labeled the attack on Hamas leaders in Doha as an act of aggression and treachery.
Prince Turki emphasized that the Israeli strike marked a dangerous escalation with wider regional implications. “After the attack on Qatar, Gulf states must reconsider their security policies. This aggression shows that the threat is no longer confined to Palestinian territories but extends to the entire Gulf,” he declared.
The comments come in response to the September 9 Israeli strike in Doha, where Hamas leaders were targeted. While the top Hamas leadership reportedly escaped unharmed, the attack sparked outrage across the Arab world. In a rare move, the Israeli prime minister later issued an apology to Qatar, signaling the sensitivity of the incident and its diplomatic fallout.
Prince Turki, who previously served as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to both the United States and the United Kingdom, linked the episode to the broader Palestinian struggle. “If there were no occupation of Palestinian lands, there would be no resistance,” he asserted, reiterating the long-standing Arab position that Israeli occupation is the root cause of ongoing violence in the region.
Analysts argue that Prince Turki’s remarks reflect growing anxieties among Gulf rulers who, despite pursuing cautious normalization with Israel in recent years, now face the prospect of direct military spillovers. For smaller Gulf states like Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait, the strike has raised alarms about vulnerability to external attacks and the adequacy of existing defense arrangements.
The incident has also highlighted divisions within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). While some members, such as the UAE and Bahrain, have formalized ties with Israel under the Abraham Accords, others like Qatar and Saudi Arabia remain more cautious. Prince Turki’s speech underscored a deepening skepticism in Riyadh about whether rapprochement with Israel offers true security or merely emboldens Israeli actions in the region.
The targeting of Hamas figures in Doha carries additional risks for Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s political leadership for years and acted as a mediator in Gaza ceasefires. By striking in Qatar, Israel may have sought to weaken Hamas abroad, but the move has effectively placed Doha at the heart of the conflict, testing its neutrality and its alliances.
For the Gulf at large, the episode raises critical questions: Should the GCC pursue greater military integration and self-reliance, or lean more heavily on Western partners like the United States for deterrence? Prince Turki’s warning suggests that without a recalibration of strategy, the Gulf could find itself increasingly exposed in the volatile chessboard of Middle Eastern geopolitics.
As the dust settles from the Doha attack, one reality remains clear: the line between the Palestinian struggle and Gulf security has blurred. For leaders in Riyadh, Doha, Abu Dhabi, and beyond, the Israeli strike may be less a one-off incident and more a harbinger of the dangers to come if the regional status quo persists.
