DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates said it summoned Israel’s deputy ambassador on Friday, in a formal rebuke of his country’s unprecedented attack against Hamas leaders in Gulf neighbour Qatar.
The UAE, along with Bahrain, was the first Gulf country to normalise ties with Israel in 2020 and has been a frequent critic of its actions since the start of the Gaza war.
It issued sharp condemnations of Tuesday’s deadly strike on Qatar.
Friday’s rare summoning was the strongest in a chorus of condemnations as anger boils in the Gulf over Israel’s strike on a region long shielded from Middle Eastern conflicts.
“Reem bint Ebrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, summoned the Israeli Deputy Head of Mission in the United Arab Emirates, David Ohad Horsandi,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
She used the meeting to “strongly condemn and denounce the blatant and cowardly Israeli attack that targeted the State of Qatar, as well as the hostile statements made by the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu,” the statement said.
“Any aggression against a GCC member state constitutes an attack on the collective Gulf security framework,” she added, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council regional bloc.
Asked about the summoning, a spokeswoman at the Israeli embassy told AFP that “Israel carried out a targeted strike against senior Hamas leadership who have used Qatar as a base from which to wage war on Israel”.
According to unconfirmed media reports, Israel’s incumbent ambassador to the UAE, Yossi Shelley, was recalled after displaying “undignified” behaviour at a local bar several months ago and for repeatedly failing to follow security protocols.
The Israeli foreign ministry has not confirmed the reports.
The rebuke comes amid a diplomatic frenzy over the attack with an emergency Arab-Islamic summit planned in Doha on Sunday and Monday to discuss a regional response to the attack.
Later on Friday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
On Tuesday, Israel said it had targeted Hamas leaders in Doha but the group said its top officials survived.
Six people were killed in the attack: five Hamas members, none of them top leaders, as well as a Qatari member of the security forces in his 20s.
Gulf monarchies including Qatar and the UAE are key US allies.
The White House said US President Donald Trump did not agree with Israel’s decision to take military action.
He said he was not notified in advance and when he heard, he asked his envoy Steve Witkoff to warn Qatar immediately — but the attack had already started.
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