NEW YORK: After an Israeli attack on Qatar threatened to unravel the Gulf State's relations with the US and its Gaza peace efforts, President Donald Trump has stepped up with an unprecedented security guarantee offering it military protection against attacks.
White House released on Wednesday (local time) Trump's executive order declaring that the US would treat any attack on Qatar as a threat to itself and would take military action to defend it.
Significantly, the order was signed on Monday, the day when Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the White House to meet with Trump.
With Netanyahu at his side, Trump unveiled a peace plan for Gaza that he said had the support of Qatar, other Arab states, and many Muslim-majority countries.
The guarantee draws a red line for Israel, putting Qatar territory off limits for attacks.
The order echoes the NATO treaty that is built on the principle that an attack on one of its members would be treated as an attack on all of them.
However, Trump's guarantee to Qatar is not a treaty, which would require the Senate's approval.