Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to use his upcoming address to the UN General Assembly to formally declare Qatar an enemy state, saying the move would have broad political backing in Israel.
“All of us, coalition and opposition, will back this move,” said Bennett, who heads the Beyachad list.
Bennett urges Netanyahu to declare Qatar an ‘enemy state’ in UN speech
(Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun, Amit Shabi)
Bennett framed the demand around the approaching third anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre. “We are about to mark three years since the Oct. 7 massacre. This is an opportunity to deliver historic justice for the 1,200 murdered, the wounded and our heroic soldiers, from the stage the entire world is watching,” he said.
He also said he would send the UN secretary-general what he described as evidence of Qatari involvement in the Oct. 7 massacre carried out by Hamas terrorists.
“Qatar funded the massacre and Hamas’s military wing, Qatar celebrated the massacre, it justifies the massacre and encourages the next massacre,” Bennett said. “Qatar is an enemy, and it is time for the entire world to know it and act accordingly.”
Bennett’s accusations are his own claims, and Qatar has long presented itself as a mediator in negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Qatar becomes an election issue
Bennett’s challenge comes roughly a month before Israel’s election and against the backdrop of the Qatargate investigation, which has examined suspected ties between figures close to Netanyahu and Qatar.
A recent ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth investigation by Ronen Bergman and Yuval Rubovitch reported that Netanyahu had received intelligence as early as 2019 indicating that Qatari funds transferred to Gaza with his government’s approval were also being diverted to Hamas’s military buildup.
According to the investigation, later assessments indicated that between 40% and 50% of the Hamas military wing’s budget came from those funds, while additional money allegedly reached the organization through a separate covert channel. The investigation also reported that Egypt warned Israel about the issue and that Netanyahu did not change course despite the warnings.
Netanyahu himself has repeatedly voiced harsh criticism of Qatar. In 2025, he demanded that Doha decide “whether it is on the side of civilization or on the side of barbarism,” accused it of spreading “rot” at U.S. universities and described it as a “complex country.”
He has nevertheless stopped short of formally declaring Qatar an enemy state.
Bennett said Netanyahu’s UN appearance should now serve as the test.
“This is the moment of truth,” he said. “Netanyahu’s speech at the UN will be judged not by boastful declarations, but by an explicit declaration that Qatar is an enemy state.”
Bennett argued that as long as no such designation is made, Qatar continues to wield influence in Gaza and, in his words, enables Hamas to rearm, recruit terrorists and prepare for another massacre.
“That is a grave failure,” he said. “Now is the time to act.”