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United States does not approve of Israel's bombings against Hamas in Qatar, but the attack will not change its status as a Washington ally, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday before traveling to that region.
The air strikes on Tuesday — the first by Israel against Qatar, an ally of the United States— have shocked the region and have put enormous pressure on diplomatic efforts to achieve a truce in Gaza.
"What happened, happened. Obviously, we didn't like it, the president (of the United States, Donald Trump) didn't like it," Rubio told the press shortly before leaving Washington to meet with authorities in Israel.
"It's not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis, but we'll have to talk about it; mainly, what impact this will have" on truce efforts, Rubio added.
"We need to move forward and determine what's next, because after all, there's still a group called Hamas, an evil group."
Israel attacked Hamas leaders meeting in Qatar to discuss a new ceasefire proposal presented by the Trump administration.
The U.S. president called the Israeli attack regrettable, reprimanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and stated that the United States found out about the bombing too late to stop it.
When referring to Rubio's visit, the State Department merely indicated this week that the American diplomat would discuss "operational goals and objectives" with Israel and demonstrate "the United States' commitment to Israeli security."
The trip of the Secretary of State to Israel is scheduled just a week before France leads a United Nations summit on September 22, in which several Western countries plan to recognize a Palestinian state centered in the West Bank.
France, exasperated by the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza, has rejected American and Israeli criticism and affirms that there must be a new path for the Palestinians.
SOURCE: AFP AGENCY
