US in a delicate balance with allies Qatar, Israel

Qatar's prime minister has dined with US president Donald Trump and met with the US Secretary of state ahead of Marco Rubio's visit to Israel, reflecting the Trump administration's attempt to balance relations between key Middle East allies. Despite tensions between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rubio will arrive in Israel on Sunday for a two-day visit. It is a show of support for the increasingly isolated country before the United Nations holds likely contentious debate on the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu opposes. Rubio and Vice President JD Vance met Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the White House on Friday. Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff later had dinner with the Qatari premier in New York, where Trump went to commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The Trump administration is walking a delicate line between two major allies after Israel took its fight with Hamas to the Qatari capital, where leaders of the militant group had gathered to consider a US proposal for a ceasefire in the nearly two-year-old war in Gaza. Qatar is a key mediator, and while its leaders have vowed to press forward, the next steps are uncertain for a long-sought deal to halt the fighting and release hostages taken from Israel. Israel's attack ruptured Trump's hopes to secure a wider Middle East peace deal, with the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar all uniting in anger. Trump himself has distanced himself from the strike, saying it "does not advance Israel or America's goals" and has promised Qatar that it would not be repeated. The US also joined a UN Security Council statement condemning the strike without mentioning Israel by name. Trump's ironclad support for an Israeli government that has increasingly flouted international norms in the war unleashed by Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack is a source of concern in the Gulf and one that Rubio will be forced to addressed on his trip. In a potential sign of Trump's unhappiness with Netanyahu, Rubio will meet in Israel with the families of hostages still held by Hamas, many of whom are opposed to Israel's new plans to occupy Gaza City. Rubio will "underscore that their relatives' return remains a top priority," the State Department said. The visit comes as efforts to broker a hostage release and ceasefire deal to end the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza have stalled and Israel has moved ahead with plans to occupy Gaza City. The department said Rubio and Israeli leaders would discuss Israel's "operational goals and objectives" in Gaza and shared attempts to persuade European nations not to recognise a Palestinian state. Rubio also is expected to visit the City of David, a popular archaeological site and tourist destination built by Israel in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan in contested east Jerusalem. It contains some of the oldest remains of the 3,000-year-old city. But critics accuse the site's operators of pushing a nationalistic agenda at the expense of Palestinian residents. In 2017, Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, though he said the move had no bearing on the city's final boundaries. Nonetheless, the move pleased the Israelis and enraged the Palestinians. Only a few small countries have followed suit, and the vast majority of the international community says the city's status should be settled through negotiations.