As international players led by the United States offer almost unconditional support to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, far from trying to stop the genocide, the Israeli question is only deepening on a global scale. Although the international community has grown more concerned, no radical policy shift capable of halting Israel has yet been formulated.

The continued economic, political and military support available to the Netanyahu administration has paved the way for Israeli attacks beyond Palestine. Over the past year, Israel has violated the sovereignty of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Tunisia, and most recently, Qatar. Resuming its genocide in Gaza, the country now stands accused before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Yet Israel’s allies have chosen to sanction ICJ members instead of Israel itself. Accordingly, it is not credible when U.S. President Donald Trump claims that he had no advance knowledge of Israel’s attack against Qatar and that he was not thrilled by it.

Israel’s attack against Qatar demonstrated that every country in the region, whether a U.S. ally or not, is a potential target. To be clear, from Washington’s standpoint, Qatar is no ordinary country. It hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, whose construction was financed directly by the Qatari state, and which currently accommodates nearly 10,000 U.S. troops.

After being elected president for a second time, Donald Trump raised U.S.-Qatar trade cooperation to $1.2 trillion. In the same period, Qatar Airways signed a $96 billion aircraft order with Boeing. Yet, Qatar’s economic ties with the U.S. go far beyond these examples. The country also exerts significant economic influence over the American education system, think tanks and lobbying firms.

Qatar has long acted as a mediator in conflicts and disputes involving the U.S., including playing a key role during Washington’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Yet despite its extensive economic ties, deep alliance with Washington and the presence of U.S. bases, Qatar’s inability to defend itself against Israeli aggression called the security balance of the Gulf into question.

This was not just about Qatar. The latest developments also heightened security concerns among the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman – countries with strong ties to Washington that realized U.S. partnership offered them no security guarantee vis-a-vis Israel. Let us recall that during Trump’s first term, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain joined the Abraham Accords. At the same time, under Israel’s guidance and encouragement, those countries cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposed an embargo. During Joe Biden’s presidency, those countries normalized their relations with Qatar.

Following Israel’s attack, the visits of the UAE and Saudi crown princes to Doha, which were intended as a show of support and solidarity, were highly significant. These countries are bound to question Washington’s security guarantees. Yet, it would be unrealistic to expect them to undertake any radical change in the medium term.

Nonetheless, they will be forced to reconsider their position on the Abraham Accords, making their discomfort with Israel’s role in fueling regional chaos more visible and pursuing more cautious policies. From now on, the Gulf states will insist on discussing concrete security guarantees alongside trade in their dealings with the U.S. If Washington fails to provide such guarantees in return for trade agreements, they will likely expand their trade with China and Russia in an effort to increase their bargaining power.

The Israeli aggression has revealed that the oil-for-weapons equation no longer works. In the future, the Gulf states are expected to diversify their security partnerships and put forward new conditions in their economic relations with the U.S. In particular, statements by Qatar’s prime minister indicate that the country will seek to develop a common response together with other nations that have been, or could become, targets of Israeli aggression. In other words, the attack on Doha has set in motion dynamics that, if not in the short term, will certainly transform regional geopolitics in the medium and long term.