File image.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has pledged that a government under his leadership would formally designate Qatar an enemy state, accusing the Gulf country of financing the October 7 attacks of 2023 and hosting Hamas leaders.
Relations between Israel and Qatar have deteriorated sharply since the October 7 attacks, in which Hamas killed about 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages.
Qatar has long hosted senior Hamas officials in Doha and transferred funds to Gaza under arrangements coordinated with previous Israeli governments. Criticism of those ties intensified after the attacks, fueled by allegations that Qatari money helped sustain Hamas and by a scandal involving alleged Qatari payments to close advisers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office.
Tensions escalated further in September 2025 when Israel carried out a strike in Doha targeting Hamas leaders, an operation that drew strong condemnation from Qatar.
Bennett first promised to deal with Qatar as an enemy state on July 27 while giving a speech at a national security conference.
“In the next government, I will declare Qatar an enemy state,” he said.
He described Qatar as “an antisemitic cancer that sends metastases to the West and even into the office of the Israeli Prime Minister” and stated that its “hands are stained with the blood of our sons and daughters who were murdered, raped, burned, and kidnapped on October 7.”
Qatar responded by accusing Bennett of spreading disinformation for political purposes. On July 28, Bennett replied on X to a statement from the Qatari Embassy in Washington. He wrote that Qatar “bears responsibility for the October 7 massacre,” “financed October 7,” continues to host Hamas leaders in Doha, and has never condemned the attacks.
Bennett added that he “can’t be bought with money” and repeated that Qatar is an enemy that Israel will designate as such.
On July 29, after what he described as a Qatari campaign against him, Bennett posted a further statement slamming Qatar.
“Qatar financed the October 7 massacre. Qatar’s hands are stained with the blood of the murdered, the hostages and the rape victims,” he wrote. “It has never apologized and continues to host the terrorist leaders of Hamas in Doha.”
He accused Qatar of building “a global influence operation aimed at eliminating Israel,” funding Al Jazeera and investing billions in Western universities, media and political circles, and of penetrating Netanyahu’s office “through payments to his closest advisers.”
Bennett said the next government would remove Qatar from Gaza, act against Al Jazeera, ban trade ties and direct Israeli security agencies against “terrorists in suits.”
Qatar has rejected the accusations, saying its activities in Gaza were coordinated with Israel and helped secure the release of hostages.
Bennett leads the Together alliance, a joint electoral list with Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid. Recent opinion polls show the party winning 13 to 15 seats in the Knesset. Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party has overtaken it, polling at 21 to 23 seats and often tying or closely trailing Netanyahu’s Likud.
Israel is scheduled to hold elections on October 27. Bennett is not currently the leading challenger to Netanyahu, but he remains a significant opposition figure whose support could prove decisive in post-election coalition talks. He has said he would not form a government relying on Arab parties.
A formal “enemy state” designation would trigger restrictions under Israeli law on trade and other ties. It would also risk complicating relations with the United States, which maintains close security cooperation with Qatar.
Whether such a policy would be pursued depends on the outcome of the upcoming vote and the composition of the next government.
One trend appears clear — the perception of Qatar as an adversary is gaining traction in Israeli political discourse. Even if Netanyahu remains in power after the coming elections, Doha is likely to face mounting pressure from Israel over its expanding influence in the region.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com