British researcher: “Israel” is the biggest threat to the Gulf states

LONDON, Sept. 14 (YPA) – A British researcher believed that the attack that Israeli occupation launched last week on the Qatari capital, Doha, was a new threat to the Gulf states, according to an article published in the London-based newspaper, The Guardian, on Saturday.

Dr Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at Chatham House, a London-based international affairs think tank, said that the occupation’s attempted assassination of Hamas leaders in Doha crossed a red line that even its closest Arab partners could not ignore.

“Israel has previously justified preemptive strikes outside its borders as necessary for its security, she added. Over two years, it has struck six countries in the region under the pretext of eliminating all threats to its security.”

The researcher explained that this strike represented a fundamental shift in the Arab world, as Gulf leaders now see “Israel” as the sole major destabilizing factor in the region, not Iran.

The article in the British newspaper asserted that the message conveyed by the Israeli raids called into question the Gulf rulers assumption that American relations and military bases would protect them from attacks.

It noted that the Gulf states must reassess the uncertain prospects of normalization with “Israel” while working to strengthen cooperation among them and diversify their foreign, security, and economic partnerships with emerging powers such as China.

AA