Trump upset by Israeli attack in Doha: “I’m not happy, I’m very unhappy”
Donald Trump, in a rare public rebuff to his ally Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday criticized Israel’s attack on Qatar, which could thwart his diplomatic plans in the region.
“I’m not happy,” he said, “and I’m very unhappy,” he said during a brief exchange with the press before heading to dinner at a restaurant near the White House.
“No,” he replied, shaking his head when a reporter asked him if Israel had warned him in advance.
He promised to make a “full statement” on Wednesday.
The Republican leader had already said he was “very uncomfortable” with the attacks on leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Doha, in a message on his Truth Social network.
“Unilaterally bombing Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working hard, courageously, and taking risks to negotiate peace (in Gaza), does not advance the objectives of Israel or America,” spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt previously told reporters.
The decision to launch an attack in Qatar “was made by (Israeli) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not me,” Donald Trump wrote on his platform, referring to a “regrettable incident that could be an opportunity for PEACE.”
He was able to make his point to the main person concerned, since he spoke to Benjamin Netanyahu after the attack
The US president also spoke with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, to whom he “assured that such a thing would not happen again.”
Donald Trump visited Qatar in May as part of a tour of several Gulf states and received a warm welcome.
The state, which hosts a huge US military base, gave him a Boeing 747-8, estimated by experts to be worth $400 million.
The 79-year-old billionaire, ignoring accusations of corruption from the Democratic opposition, accepted the aircraft, which was intended to become his presidential plane.
The Americans only became aware at the last minute of the attack carried out by Israel, a major ally of the United States, whose military operations in Gaza have been supported until now by Donald Trump
“The Trump administration was notified this morning (Tuesday) by the US military” of the upcoming Israeli attack, Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing.
“I immediately asked Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to inform Qatar of the imminent attack, which he did, but unfortunately too late to stop” the strikes, the American president said.
“The call from a US official came as the explosions were heard in Doha,” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told X
