Gravitas | Naftali Bennett vows to declare Qatar an 'enemy state' after becoming Israeli PM

During the ongoing West Asia war, both Israel and Qatar have been at the receiving end of Iran's retaliation, being allies of the US. On the domestic front, key Israeli opposition leader Naftali Bennett has now vowed to declare Qatar an "enemy state" if he becomes the prime minister again. Bennett, who served as Israel's prime minister from 2021 to 2022, accused Doha of funding Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

According to reports, he also claimed that Qatar has spent 25 years building a powerful global influence operation that has caused major damage to Israel. Bennett also lashed out at Qatar over its alleged support for Hamas in the context of the October 7 terror attack, which led to the killing of about 1,200 Israelis. He said, "After October 7, nothing is complicated here. Qatar is an enemy."

The former Israeli prime minister also called Qatar a "violent anti-Semitic cancer" that has spread even to Netanyahu's office. This was a reference to the Qatargate scandal. Essentially, Netanyahu's top aides—Jonatan Urich, Eli Feldstein, and Israel Einhorn—were accused of taking money to spearhead a public relations campaign aimed at portraying Qatar in a positive light after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Israel arrested Urich and Feldstein in March last year.

While Netanyahu has dismissed the Qatargate allegations as "politically motivated", Bennett has repeatedly demanded his resignation over the issue.

For its part, Qatar accused Bennett of spreading disinformation to further his own political ambitions. The country's embassy in the US said, "Israeli politicians who criticise Qatar should instead focus on addressing their own domestic challenges."

Now, ties between Israel and Qatar have been quite complex, to say the least. On one hand, Qatar hosts Al Udeid Air Base, the largest American military base in West Asia. The base has been attacked by Iran multiple times during the war. At the same time, Qatar is one of the key mediators through which the U.S. exchanges messages with Iran. It also played a crucial role in securing the Gaza ceasefire.

However, Israel does not view Qatar as a neutral actor. Tel Aviv accuses Qatar of backing Hamas, whose political office it has hosted since 2012.

It is also pertinent to note that Qatar has yet to join the Abraham Accords and establish diplomatic relations with Israel. In September last year, tensions between the two countries peaked after the IDF conducted its first-ever airstrike on Doha, resulting in the deaths of five Hamas operatives and one Qatari security personnel.

The strike triggered global outrage. In a sharp rebuke, US President Donald Trump stressed that the attack did not advance either Israel's or America's goals. Initially, Netanyahu justified the strike. However, during a meeting with Trump at the White House, Netanyahu called his Qatari counterpart and apologised for the airstrike on Doha and the violation of the country's sovereignty. He also affirmed that Israel would not carry out such an attack again in the future. With Israel scheduled to go to the polls in October, it appears that both Qatar and Iran will remain major talking points in the country's domestic politics.