A qualitative shift in the relationship between Israel and Qatar came to light with an Israeli decision to comprehensively stop all security exports to Doha, in a step that is not limited to future deals, but also includes contracts that were signed years ago and are still being implemented, amid estimates that the value of security transactions between the two sides reaches hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to a report by journalist Nir Dvory on the Israeli “N12” website, Israel decided to impose an absolute and comprehensive ban on all security exports transferred by Israeli defense industries to Qatar.
The Central Bulletin revealed the decision on Monday evening, explaining that the step means a complete and widespread cessation of the export of Israeli security industry products to Qatar.
The decision is not limited to deals that may be concluded in the future, but also includes contracts that were previously signed 4 and 5 years ago, and the implementation stages of which are still continuing today.
According to the report, the Israeli security establishment describes Qatar as a “bad state” working against Israel.
According to foreign publications, the Israeli security industries have sold weapons, defense systems, cyber systems and air defense means to the Qataris over the past years, with an estimated value of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The report indicated that these security exports were not carried out far from official institutions, but were approved by the Israeli Ministry of Defense and the Prime Minister.
According to “N12”, the new decision represents a shift in Israeli policy towards Qatar, while the report indicated that it is not certain that this step will be the “last word” in the path of escalation between the two parties.
The head of the “Pihad” party and former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett commented on the revelation, saying: “The security establishment warns the Israeli government of the terrible danger posed by Qatar and stops security deals with it, but the political leadership in Israel continues to close its eyes to the anti-Semitic cancer that is striking us.”
The decision comes at a time when the future of the relationship with Qatar has become part of the election campaigns of Israeli parties, after an official proposal was put forward to declare Doha an “enemy state.”
Bennett had announced that he would work to push towards declaring Qatar an enemy state, but the head of the Yashar Party, Gadi Eisenkot, was not quick to adopt the step.
“I am not proposing to do this as a political ploy,” Eisenkot said during a visit to Nir Oz in early August. “The matter should be taken as a serious decision, not as an election slogan.”
Bennett had previously made strong accusations against Qatar on social media, writing: “Qatar bears responsibility for the October 7 massacre. Qatar financed October 7, and it hosts and harbors terrorist leaders in Doha until this moment.”
Thus, the Israeli dispute with Qatar is moving from the level of political accusations and electoral campaigns to measures that directly affect the security and economic cooperation that has existed for years, while canceling contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars opens the door to a different stage in the relationship between Doha and Israel, the extent of which may not stop when arms exports are stopped.
