By : Nedal Zubeidi
Jordan Daily – Since the first missile was fired in the genocide against Gaza against Gaza more than seven hundred days ago, the world has moved from one scene of blood and rubble to another, believing each time that the ceiling had been reached, that the war machine would not dare to cross a new threshold. Yet what happened in Doha on Tuesday carried a different meaning: the last ceiling has collapsed.
The Israeli strike on the Qatari capital was not a passing military act. It was, in the clearest sense, a breach of both international and regional norms. The matter is no longer confined to ravaged Gaza, or to a threatened southern Lebanon, or to a violated Syria. Israel has now placed Arab capital before an unprecedented test: does sovereignty still mean anything?
The initial reactions were loud. The Emir of Qatar received back-to-back calls from leaders of Arab capitals rushed to issue condemnations. But the real question lies not in the words, but in what follows them. For Israel does not apologize, does not retreat, and fears nothing except what is imposed upon it by force or isolation.
The irony is that the attack came at a moment of negotiations, while the Hamas delegation was discussing an American proposal for a ceasefire. Israel did not target Hamas leaders alone; it targeted the very idea of negotiation. It wanted to send a message: there is no peace, no truce, not even mediation. Only force- only blood- is the language.
Benjamin Netanyahu knows well that he has no peace plan and no comprehensive war strategy. What he does have is the need to remain one more day in power. Every missile on Gaza, every raid on Beirut or Damascus, every reckless adventure in Doha- each is another bridge he crosses to escape the corruption trials waiting for him.
As for the Arabs, they now face a more dangerous reality. Doha is not a border town, nor a gray zone of conflict. It is the capital of a sovereign Gulf state, a UN member, and the seat of mediation. If Israel can strike there and walk away, what prevents it tomorrow from trying Riyadh, Kuwait, or Cairo?
The attack left Qatar with no choice but to suspend its mediation role. And that is a pivotal development: when Doha abandons the mediator’s chair, the entire negotiation track collapses, leaving the door wide open to unchecked military adventures.
What happened in Doha is not just another episode in the war, but the announcement of a new phase: the breaking of the last ceiling. And the heavier question now is this- how will the region respond to such an existential test?
For what befell Qatar is not a Qatari affair alone. It is a test for all Arabs: are they still countries with sovereignty, or merely a geography awaiting the next strike?
