UPDATE - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait back Qatar against Netanyahu’s threats, call for international action

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT FROM SAUDI ARABIA, REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, AND LEDE

By Hussien Elkabamy, Ikram Kouachi and Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) -Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Friday voiced strong support for Qatar against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats, state media reported.

In a statement, Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, in which he demanded that Qatar and other countries hosting Hamas leaders “expel them, or Israel will do it,” warning of potential attacks.

Netanyahu likened the Israeli assault on Doha to the US pursuit of al-Qaeda following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The ministry described the comments as “hostile statements and reckless threats” and said they constitute “desperate attempts to justify Israel’s brutal aggression while violating the sovereignty of other states.”

Kuwait emphasized its “firm and unwavering” support for Qatar, stating that it stands fully behind the Gulf nation “in all measures it takes to preserve its sovereignty, security, and stability.”

The ministry also called on the international community and the UN Security Council to “fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities to maintain international peace and security and to stop Israel’s violations and aggressions.”

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said: “The Kingdom strongly condemns and denounces the aggressive remarks made by the Israeli occupation prime minister against the brotherly State of Qatar.”

“The Kingdom reaffirms its solidarity with the brotherly State of Qatar in the measures it takes and stresses that these aggressive statements and practices by the Israeli occupation authorities, and their grave violations of international laws and norms, require the international community to continue taking concrete measures to put an end to these destructive Israeli policies in the region,” the statement said.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, rejected Netanyahu’s statements on Wednesday, saying the remarks were “reckless” and “an attempt to justify Israel’s cowardly attack” on Qatari territory.

It said the Hamas office in Doha is hosted as part of mediation efforts “requested by the United States and Israel.”

The threat followed an Israeli airstrike on a Hamas leadership site in Doha on Tuesday, which killed a Qatari security officer and several Hamas members.

The Gulf countries’ statements came amid heightened regional tensions, as Israel continues its genocidal war on Gaza, killing more than 64,700 Palestinians since October 2023.

The offensive has also displaced hundreds of thousands of people and triggered famine, which has claimed at least 411 lives, including 142 children.