Qatar has signed up to the Abraham Accords and is anxious to abandon its old ways.
Over the past year, Qatar Airways has acquired a 25% stake in Virgin Australia and a 25% stake in South Africa-based regional carrier Airlink.
It placed an order last week for 160 Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 777X and 787 planes with GE Aerospace engines worth $96 billion, the largest ever widebody deal for the companies, during U.S. President Donald Trump's high-profile visit to Qatar.
Qatar Airways saw above-market growth in passenger numbers from April 2024 until January this year, a senior executive told Reuters in March, up 9% across its network
U.S. President Donald J. Trump was being hosted in Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen fired another ballistic missile at Israel.
The missile, which flew over Saudi Arabia on its way to Israel, was fortunately intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces before reaching its intended target.
The Houthis, in fact, fired
three ballistic missiles at Israel, right over the crown prince’s head.
The attacks came less than a week after Trump announced that he had reached a separate ceasefire deal with the Houthis to end their attacks on American-flagged vessels in the Red Sea. “They just don’t want to fight, and we will honor that,” Trump
said.
“We will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated. But more importantly, we will take their word. They said they will not be blowing up any ships anymore,” he added.
Sadly, anyone who takes the word of a terrorist group is living in a dream world. Just look at
Afghanistan. The Taliban could not wait to break their
vow to ensure women’s rights would be protected. Women have been
erased in Afghanistan.
The Trump-Houthi agreement, notably, did not require the Iranian proxy militia to stop its missile attacks on Israel. The Yemeni group therefore did not hesitate to
launch a ballistic missile at Israel during Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia. By using the Houthis to attack Israel, Iran—hiding behind the skirts of the Houthis—could congratulate itself on staying safe from potential retaliation.
The missile attack from Yemen seemed a clear message to the U.S. president that the Houthis, as well as Iran’s mullahs, are happy to continue their assaults on Israel.
In the eyes of Iran and the Houthis, Trump’s separate peace deal that excluded Israel is a captivating green light to continue their attacks on “The Little Satan,” while obligingly halting their assaults on vessels in the Red Sea.
Trump’s deal with the Houthis sent everyone in the Middle East the message that the Trump administration has finally thrown Israel under the bus.
A pro-Houthi social media account mocked Saudi Arabia, Trump and Israel in a
cartoon that depicted the U.S. president squeezing money out of the Saudis as a Houthi missile is seen soaring over his head on its way to Israel.
Just as Trump’s deal with the Houthis was interpreted by Yemen’s Houthis as a green light to continue missile attacks on Israel, his administration’s direct negotiations with Hamas, as well as his visit to Qatar—Hamas’s major sponsor and funder—is seen by many Palestinians and Arabs as a victory for the Palestinian terror group.
According to Palestinian political analyst Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib:
“Hamas accounts on Twitter and Telegram are exploding in orgies of joy, arrogance, foolish proclamations, and declarations that they’re finally being recognized and legitimized by the USA. They’re ecstatic that their employer, Qatar, just ‘purchased’ the US presidency with a $400 million 747 jet and a golf course, making the unconditional release of an American-Israeli hostage, Edan Alexander, from Gaza’s tunnels completely worth it.
Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff are being played and appear not even to know it.
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