With European nations poised to symbolically recognise Palestinian statehood, Israel and the United States have ramped up their religious rhetoric, which analysts say is heightening tensions and deepening divisions across the West and Middle East alike.
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Meeting in Israel on Monday – while an emergency Arab-Islamic summit convened in Doha in response to Israel’s air strikes on Qatar – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio both emphasised their nations’ “shared Judeo-Christian values”.
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post published the same day, Netanyahu argued that Israel’s greatest challenges stemmed from “radical Muslim minorities” influencing European policy towards his country, as well as investments made by “hostile countries like Qatar in influencing global discourse”.
Netanyahu claimed that “various entities and countries, led by Qatar” were attempting to impose an economic blockade on Israel, including “a media blockade funded by vast sums of money from Qatar and other countries, such as China”.
His allegations came as the Arab-Islamic summit in Doha issued a communique rejecting what it called “Israeli rhetoric that exploits and promotes Islamophobia in order to justify the continuation of its violations and its pursuit of policies outside international law”.
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