OP-ED: Attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar? A moral imperative

By ERIC LEVINE

(JNS.org) – Israel’s attack on Hamas leadership in Qatar was a moral imperative and a strategic success.

Smoke rises after the explosions in Doha, Qatar on September 09, 2025, an Israeli attack targeting Hamas officials. (Ali Altunkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Thankfully, U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel remain committed to defending the West.

It was a moral imperative because the forces responsible for the horrific terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, must be destroyed. Such evil has no place in civilized society. Destroying Adolf Hitler and the German Nazi leadership was a moral imperative in the 20th century. Obliterating the Hamas leadership is a similar triumph of good over evil.

Terrorists must know that they will be hunted down and killed, no matter where they go or how long it takes. The families of the innocents murdered by these monsters are owed no less.

Israel’s attack on Hamas leadership is also a strategic victory for Israel. Just as Hamas timed the Oct. 7 invasion to prevent Saudi Arabia from joining the Abraham Accords, Israel’s righteous strike in Doha was timed, at least in part, to make a further mockery of France’s effort to recognize a Palestinian state at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly.

If it had not already done so, Israel has established itself as a regional superpower. Its show of force is precisely the language the Arab states understand. The strike in Qatar sends the message that Jerusalem will do whatever it takes to defend itself, no matter how much international criticism it may endure. The Jewish state, with the possible exception of the United States, will determine the destiny of the Jewish people.

The feeble, pathetic, grotesque and cowardly response of some Western European nations, like France, England and Spain, merely reflects the rapid moral decay of these once-great powers. Left to them, Western civilization would be on the brink of extinction. These countries have lost their will to survive.ews remember well the world’s indifference as 6 million men, women and children were slaughtered by German Nazis in Europe.

Israel has made it clear that there is no longer any support for an independent Palestinian state. Israel has vowed never again to allow for the possibility of another Oct. 7. The Palestinians had their opportunity for a state in 1948, 2000, 2005 and 2008. Every time, they said “no,” because they were unwilling to accept the existence of a Jewish state living in peace and security within internationally recognized borders. That ship has sailed, and there is nothing French President Emmanuel Macron or the Jew-haters at the United Nations can do about it.

Macron would be better served trying to save his presidency in the wake of his dissolved government than wasting his energies on a project with absolutely no possibility of success.

National security was the principal reason Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan signed on to the 2020 Abraham Accords. They were concerned about an ascendant nuclear Iran. Now that Israel and the United States have neutralized the Iranian threat, at least for the time being, the Sunni Arab states are turning their attention to Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a Muslim Brotherhood supporter who wants to dominate the entire region by re-establishing the Ottoman Empire. It is replacing Iran as the attempted hegemon of the Middle East and the primary threat to Israel and the Gulf Arab states. As Turkey becomes more aggressive, the Arabs will have no choice but to turn to Israel as a guarantor of their security.

As Iran’s power in the Middle East wanes, Turkey is flexing its muscles. Not only does it support Hamas in its war against Israel, but it is also responsible for overthrowing the Assad regime in Syria and propping up the pro-Turkish, Muslim Brotherhood government in Damascus.

Israel’s attack in Qatar will help persuade the Arabs that they are backing the strong horse—and the right horse.

Israel’s attack in Doha was bold and decisive. Time will tell if it was worth the risk.

Eric Levine is a New York attorney, political commentator and Republican fundraiser.