Former Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, called on his successor, Benjamin Netanyahu, to declare Qatar an “enemy state” from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly, and to completely exclude it from any future role in the Gaza Strip, in a new political escalation in which Doha is accused of supporting the “Hamas” movement.
In his post on the “X” platform on Wednesday, Bennett considered that Netanyahu’s upcoming speech before the United Nations represents an opportunity to present what he described as Qatar’s role in supporting “Hamas” and its military wing, and contributing to creating the conditions that preceded the October 7 attack, saying: “Qatar is an enemy, and it is time for the world to recognize that and hold it accountable.”
The former prime minister accused Doha of financing the movement, celebrating the October 7 attack, as well as hosting Hamas leaders and supporting what he described as “extremist Islamic terrorism,” in addition to its involvement in spreading anti-Semitic propaganda globally and on university campuses in the United States.
Bennett announced that he intends to send a document called the “Qatar file” to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the ambassadors of the member states of the Security Council, claiming that it contains comprehensive evidence proving Doha’s alleged involvement in the October 7 attack, without the report including details or content of that evidence.
Bennett called for the necessity of excluding Qatar from any settlement or role in Gaza, accusing it of financing “terrorism” and working to “destroy Israel.” Although he acknowledged the existence of a political rivalry between him and Netanyahu, he stressed that “Israel’s security transcends political differences and unites Israelis.”
Bennett expressed his belief that classifying Qatar as an “enemy state” will gain broad consensus within the Israeli political spectrum as a preventive measure to prevent future attacks. He concluded by calling on Israel to take this step, remove Doha from the Gaza equation, and defeat Hamas, accusing Netanyahu of harming Israeli national security as a result of his rejection of this description and allowing Qatar to influence the course of the situation in the Gaza Strip, thus placing his accusations against Doha at the heart of internal political pressures ahead of Netanyahu’s international appearance.
