Bennett labels Qatar an 'enemy' over alleged funding of ICC cases

Key facts

• Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused Qatar of funding the ICC chief prosecutor.
• Bennett stated Qatar is "killing Israeli citizens" and "killing our soldiers."
• Bennett claimed intelligence showed Qatar also funded Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
• Bennett vowed to declare Qatar an enemy state if he is re-elected prime minister.
• Bennett described Qatar as an "antisemitic cancer" aiming to destroy Israel.
• Bennett criticized Israel's continued ties with Qatar.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has sharply criticized Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of being an "enemy" and a "cancer" that is actively working against Israel.

Speaking on an Israeli podcast and at the ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth National Security Conference, Bennett claimed that Qatar financed the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, who sought arrest warrants against Israeli leaders. He asserted that Qatar is responsible for the deaths of Israeli citizens and soldiers.

Bennett further alleged that intelligence he received while serving as prime minister indicated that Doha also funded Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a claim he stated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was aware of. "Qatar directly funded Hamas with a billion dollars in Netanyahu’s cash suitcases," Bennett added, criticizing Israel's ongoing relationship with Doha.

If re-elected as prime minister, Bennett vowed to "immediately declare Qatar an enemy state, clearly and unequivocally." He described Qatar's influence network, which includes funding American universities and operating the Al Jazeera media network, as a "violent antisemitic cancer that sends its metastases throughout the West, even into the office of the prime minister of Israel, with the aim of destroying Israel."

Bennett also reiterated his "octopus doctrine," advocating for Israel to focus on weakening and toppling the regime in Iran, which he considers the "head of the octopus," rather than solely engaging with its proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.