Israeli strikes targeting Hamas members in Qatar last week were aimed at derailing negotiations on Gaza, the Emir of Qatar accused on Monday at the opening of a special summit of Arab and Muslim leaders organized in response to this unprecedented attack.

This joint summit of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) aims to raise the tone against Israel, following the bombing of Doha, the capital of the mediating country in negotiations for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

"Whoever works persistently and methodically to assassinate the party with whom he is negotiating intends to make the negotiations fail (...) negotiations, for him, are only a part of the war," said Sheikh Tamim bin Hamas Al-Thani in his opening speech.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "dreams of the Arab region becoming an Israeli sphere of influence. And that is a dangerous illusion," he continued before the Arab and Muslim leaders gathered in Doha, including the Palestinian, Turkish, Iranian and Egyptian presidents, as well as the Iraqi and Pakistani prime ministers, the King of Jordan and the Saudi crown prince.

Turkish President Recep Tayyeb Erdogan, for his part, accused the Israeli government of wanting to "continue the massacres and genocide in Palestine while destabilizing the region."

According to the draft final declaration seen by AFP, the fifty or so countries represented are expected to denounce the Israeli attack, stressing that it jeopardizes efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Arab countries.

Israel and the United States, its main ally, are seeking to expand the Abraham Accords, which saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco recognize Israel in 2020.

- "Not just speeches" -

The Israeli attack and "Israel's continued aggressive practices, including crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, famine and blockade, as well as settlement and expansion activities, undermine the prospects for peace and peaceful coexistence in the region," the text states.

They "threaten everything that has been achieved towards establishing normal relations with Israel, including existing and future agreements," he adds.

The project also highlights "the concept of collective security (...) and the need to align to face common challenges and threats."

Before the summit opened, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian urged Muslim countries to sever "their ties with this phony regime," referring to Israel.

The Israeli attack, which killed five Hamas members and a member of the Qatari security forces, sparked a wave of condemnation from the international community, notably from the wealthy Gulf monarchies, allies of Washington. It also drew rare condemnation from the United States, Israel's number one ally but also a close ally of Qatar.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently visiting Jerusalem - a trip planned before the strikes on Qatar - to show his support for Israel ahead of the upcoming recognition by several Western countries of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly later this month.

Marco Rubio, who will travel to Qatar on Tuesday according to a US official, told reporters in Jerusalem on Monday that his country would continue to support Qatar's "constructive role" in mediating in Gaza.

"Many people are expecting action, not just rhetoric. We have exhausted all forms of rhetoric. Now we need to move on to action," Saudi researcher Aziz Alghashian commented on the summit.

The UN Human Rights Council also announced an emergency meeting this Tuesday to discuss the Israeli strikes in Qatar.

A special summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council is also scheduled for Monday in Doha, according to the Saudi press agency SPA.