One day after “Together” ("Beyachad") party chairman Naftali Bennett revealed at the ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth National Security Conference that, while serving as prime minister, he was exposed to intelligence indicating that Qatar had also funded Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Qatar issued a response.
In an official statement from the Qatari Embassy in Washington, the country said that Qatar “condemns the statements made today by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, in which he deliberately spread disinformation about Qatar in an attempt to further his own political ambitions.”
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National Security Conference of the Yedioth Ahronoth Group in collaboration with the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)
(Photo: Yuval Chen)
“If I am elected prime minister, I will immediately declare Qatar an enemy state,” Bennett said at the conference, held in cooperation with the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). He described Qatar as “a violent antisemitic cancer that sends its metastases throughout the West, even into the office of Israel’s prime minister, with the aim of destroying Israel.”
He added that Qatar should not be viewed as “a complicated country.” “After October 7, nothing is complicated here. Qatar is an enemy. It’s that simple.”
Qatar's response to Naftali Bennett's statement
Asked whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also exposed to the same information indicating that Doha had funded the Revolutionary Guard, Bennett replied: “Absolutely.” He added that Qatar had also funded Hamas and Jabhat al-Nusra and criticized continued ties with the country: “How can we confront an enemy if we do not call it an enemy? As prime minister, I will officially declare Qatar an enemy of the State of Israel.”
The Qataris said in response that “Qatar’s role in efforts to support security and stability in the region has been widely recognized by regional and international partners. This includes its efforts to support stability and improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which were carried out in full coordination with the relevant Israeli authorities and international partners. As part of these efforts, Qatar helped secure several ceasefires and facilitated the release of several Israeli hostages held in Gaza.”
They directly criticized Bennett, saying: “This is not the first time Bennett has attacked Qatar in order to score political points on the domestic stage. Israeli politicians who criticize Qatar would be better served by focusing on addressing their own country’s internal challenges. As we have made clear in the past, Israel’s disinformation campaigns will not deter Qatar from continuing to play its constructive role in advancing peace and security, both in the region and internationally.”
Following the response, which was published by the Qatari Embassy in the United States, Bennett replied in a video: “Qatar bears responsibility for the October 7 massacre. Qatar funded October 7 and hosts and shelters the terrorist leaders in Doha. Until this moment, they have never condemned the October 7 massacre and they celebrated on October 7 the massacre, murder and rape of Israeli civilians. I cannot be bought with money. Qatar is an enemy and we will declare it an enemy.”