NEW YORK — Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani told Breitbart News exclusively in an interview here on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that the entire Arab world is looking to American President Donald Trump as the “only one” who can help bring peace to Gaza.
“I believe that the meeting with the Arab and Muslim leaders that took place with President Trump was a very important meeting,” Al Thani told Breitbart News exclusively. “It was a very important event during the UNGA. Basically, the main purpose of that is to highlight for the president the danger for the region and that we need to put a stop to what Israel is doing. Basically, it’s not only jeopardizing the security of the region, it’s jeopardizing even the U.S. interests in the region and jeopardizing the partnerships that the U.S. has built throughout decades in that region. The president was very receptive. He listened to all the leaders and he wants to work together with them to find a solution to this and put an end to it. We believe that everything should start with Gaza — stopping the war in Gaza and build out from there — because if you look at it today Israel and Netanyahu, it’s not the entire country but it’s Netanyahu, is setting the stage for the region that he has no boundaries and no red lines. He will do whatever he wants wherever he wants.”
Al Thani sat for about half an hour with Breitbart News at the Qatari permanent mission to the United Nations early on Thursday afternoon for a wide-ranging discussion on a number of major issues. Al Thani’s interview with Breitbart News came after Trump met earlier this week with Arab leaders here after his address to the UNGA, and in the aftermath of Israel’s decision to conduct a military strike on Doha — Qatar’s capital — in an apparent effort to eliminate Hamas negotiators. While much is still unknown about the Israeli attack’s effectiveness, the fact that many Qataris were injured and at least one — a security official — was killed has enraged Qataris and the Arab world. Trump himself issued a statement afterwards saying he did not think the attack was productive or in the U.S. or Israeli interest.
“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a Sovereign Nation and close Ally of the United States, that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker Peace, does not advance Israel or America’s goals,” Trump said on Truth Social in the immediate aftermath of the strike.
Since then, some reports have indicated that Trump was tipped off by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the strike ahead of time, but Trump has flatly denied those reports. Trump, meanwhile, hosted Al Thani at Trump Tower for discussions on the matter and has also hosted Arab leaders for discussions in New York. He is also hosting a state visit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the White House on Thursday where this will surely be a topic of discussion.
Al Thani told Breitbart News that at their meeting on Tuesday Trump had made clear he is committed to peace in Gaza.
“The president reiterated his commitment to put an end for the war in Gaza,” Al Thani said. “He mentioned that he is working with his team on a plan for peace in Gaza and we are trying to help and assist his team in making the plan more acceptable and supported by the region as well.”
The outrage from the Arab world at Netanyahu over the strike on Doha cannot be overstated. Most Arab leaders have ripped him over it, with even the Jordanian King Abdullah II using his address at the UNGA to express his displeasure.
Al Thani told Breitbart News that the Arab world, the Middle East region, and frankly the entire world are watching Trump with hope that he can stop Netanyahu from further such actions and bring an eventual end to the war in Gaza. He specifically said Trump is “the only one” who can rein Netanyahu in.
“We’ve been working with the president and the administration on multiple conflicts not just in the Middle East but even outside the Middle East and we see that President Trump, his policies since he came to office, is about how to end wars and how to start a new era of prosperity and development,” Al Thani said. “Basically, when we are working together with him on these files, it is basically to help and to bring peace and stability to — our region is of course our priority — but also beyond that. I believe, watching the president’s commitment to bring peace in the Middle East is very important. It’s very important also to highlight for the president that it’s not necessarily everything that Netanyahu is doing now is helping the U.S. interest. For example, the attack that happened that took place in Doha while negotiating teams were discussing a proposal submitted by President Trump was a total undermining of the U.S. and its efforts. We know that President Trump is the only one who can stop him from acting this way, because this is putting everything that the U.S. has done in the region in jeopardy. The president himself said what happened in Doha is against U.S. interests.”
When Trump visited the Middle East earlier this year at the beginning of his second term, Arab leaders were hopeful that his return to the presidency would usher in a new era of peace in the region. Trump visited Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar on that trip. Asked if they are still hopeful Trump can succeed here, Al Thani told Breitbart News that “of course” the Arab leaders are. He pointed to Trump’s UNGA speech, and his meeting later with the Arab leaders.
“We are still hopeful,” Al Thani said. “What we heard from the president two days ago was very encouraging, on Tuesday in the meeting with the Arab leaders was very encouraging, and we hope to get back on the right track and we hope that Netanyahu at the end listens and stops what he’s doing. All the energy of the visits and the deals that are being signed are now put into question after what he did with Qatar, striking a strong U.S. ally in the region. Basically, this has raised a lot of questions not among the Qataris only but among others and other partners in the region.”
Al Thani reiterated that Trump is the only person who can succeed at this.
“We are hopeful that if there is someone who can bring the stability to the Middle East, they need to restore order,” Al Thani told Breitbart News. “What’s happening right now is disorder by Netanyahu and the way he is conducting himself in the Middle East. Someone needs to stop him, and we don’t see anyone as able to stop him except President Trump.”
Asked if he means that Trump has the power to succeed here unlike anyone else, Al Thani simply replied: “Yes. He’s the President of the United States.”
More from Al Thani’s exclusive interview with Breitbart News is forthcoming.
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