Qatar emir says Netanyahu wants Arab world as 'Israeli sphere of influence'

Qatar's emir said Monday that Israel had sought to derail Gaza talks by striking Hamas negotiators in his country last week, and that its premier Benjamin Netanyahu dreams of an Arab world under Israeli influence.

"Whoever works diligently and systematically to assassinate the party with whom he is negotiating, intends to thwart the negotiations... Negotiations, for them, are merely part of the war," Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani told Arab and Muslim leaders gathered in Doha to discuss the attack.

He also said Netanyahu "dreams of turning the Arab region into an Israeli sphere of influence, and this is a dangerous illusion."