Qatar, Jordan Denounce Netanyahu As Warmonger, Regional Threat; Indonesia Says ‘Shalom’

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani told the UN General Assembly that Israel had “chosen war” instead of pursuing the release of its remaining 48 hostages. He accused Israel of sabotaging the Qatari-brokered talks with its September 9 strike on Hamas officials in Doha, calling the attack “treacherous.”

In his speech in New York, al-Thani accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and said Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu views the conflict as “an opportunity to expand settlements.”

Other world leaders also spoke out against Israel. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Jordan’s King Abdullah, and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan all sharply criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. Abdullah devoted nearly his entire address to attacking Netanyahu’s government, saying its push for “Greater Israel” threatened the sovereignty of neighboring states and made Israel “not a partner for peace.”

Indonesia’s president, however, took a different stance. Representing the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, which has no official ties with Israel, he emphasized that Israel’s security must be respected and closed his remarks with the Hebrew word “Shalom.”

Some of al-Thani’s criticism echoed the concerns of hostage families, who said they plan to shadow Netanyahu in New York when he speaks on Friday. They argue the IDF’s new push into Gaza City endangers their relatives’ lives and that the strike in Doha derailed negotiations for their release.

The emir condemned the attack in Qatar as a breach of sovereignty and labeled it “state terrorism.” He accused Israel of using diplomacy as a cover for plots to kill negotiators. “They visit our country and plot to attack it,” al-Thani said. “They negotiate with delegations and plot to assassinate the members of the negotiation teams. It is difficult to cooperate with such a mentality that does not respect the most minimal standards of cooperation. It is impossible.”

“They consider negotiations the continuation of war by other means and a way to delude the Israeli public opinion,” he added. Al-Thani claimed that by tying hostage releases to the war’s end, Israel was “abandoning the notion of releasing the hostages.”

The emir accused Israel of seeking to make Gaza uninhabitable and to push out its population. “The Israeli leader wants to continue war. He believes in what is called Greater Israel,” he said, alleging Netanyahu saw war as a chance to expand settlements and alter the situation at the Temple Mount, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque stands. “Israel is not a democratic country surrounded by enemies, but in fact it is an enemy to its surrounding neighbors,” he added.

Al-Thani praised Western countries that recently recognized a Palestinian state, noting that Netanyahu had vowed to prevent such a state from ever being created. He charged that Israel is “engaged in a genocide” and that its leadership “takes pride in preventing peace with the Palestinians.”

The Qatari ruler said Israel “desires to impose its will” on the region, labeling anyone who resists as antisemitic or a terrorist. He pledged that Qatar would continue diplomacy despite attempts to smear his country, which has long faced criticism for funding Al Jazeera and hosting Hamas leaders.

Turkey’s President Erdogan also called Israel’s campaign in Gaza a “genocide,” displaying images of destruction. “A genocide is continuing in Gaza; even as we meet here, innocent people are dying,” he said. He insisted the situation was not “a fight against terrorism” but “an occupation, deportation, exile, genocide, and destruction of life.”

Erdogan also condemned Israel’s military actions in the West Bank and in countries such as Syria, Iran, Yemen, and Lebanon. He argued that Israel’s conduct jeopardizes global human rights standards and said Netanyahu was “obviously not interested in forging peace or releasing the hostages.”

Jordan’s King Abdullah called the Gaza war “one of the darkest moments in this institution’s history.” He criticized endless condemnations without concrete action and warned that interim agreements had only allowed Israel to expand settlements and displace Palestinians. He accused Israel of enabling the desecration of holy sites and said Israeli families, too, lack real security because “military action cannot bring the safety they need.”

Abdullah cited figures from Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, claiming over 60,000 Palestinians killed and 50,000 children injured or killed. He condemned the scale of destruction, though those numbers cannot be independently verified and do not distinguish between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed about 22,000 militants in Gaza and 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack.

Like the Qatari emir, Abdullah accused Israel of undermining the Temple Mount status quo and warned that rhetoric about “Greater Israel” violates neighboring states’ sovereignty. He cautioned that threats to Al-Aqsa Mosque risk igniting a religious war that could spread far beyond the region.

UN Secretary General Guterres, opening the assembly, said Gaza is entering “a third monstrous year” of war and accused Israel of imposing “collective punishment.” While condemning Hamas’s October 7 massacre, he stressed that “nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people and the systematic destruction of Gaza.” He urged a permanent ceasefire, release of all hostages, humanitarian access, and a two-state solution.

In contrast, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto said his nation will recognize Israel once it recognizes a Palestinian state. “We must also recognize, we must also respect, and we must also guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then we can have real peace,” he said, ending his remarks with “Shalom.”

Though Indonesia lacks official ties with Israel, it has cooperated on aid deliveries into Gaza and has considered normalizing ties. Subianto said Indonesia is prepared to send peacekeepers, offering up to 20,000 troops for Gaza if mandated by the UN. He added that Indonesian forces could also deploy to other hotspots such as Ukraine, Sudan, or Libya.

{Matzav.com}