President Donald Trump has issued an executive order in which the United States pledges to guarantee Qatar’s security, including retaliatory military action, if the country were to come under attack again, in the wake of Israel’s unprecedented attack on the country last month that drew regional and global outrage.

Israel said that attack targeted the Hamas leadership, who were in the capital Doha discussing a US ceasefire proposal for Gaza under Qatari auspices. It killed several members of the Palestinian group’s team, but not the leaders, as well as a Qatari security officer.

On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu apologised to Qatar for the killing of its citizen. Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani received the apology on Monday in a joint call from Trump and Netanyahu during their meeting at the White House.

In his latest executive order, Trump said the US and Qatar had been “bound together by close cooperation, shared interests, and the close relationship between our armed forces”.

The US president added that Qatar was “a steadfast ally in pursuit of peace, stability, and prosperity” and had supported Washington in mediating regional and global conflicts.

“In recognition of this history, and in light of the continuing threats to the State of Qatar posed by foreign aggression, it is the policy of the United States to guarantee the security and territorial integrity of the State of Qatar against external attack,” he said.

More to come…