Former prime minister Naftali Bennett called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to use his upcoming address to the United Nations General Assembly to declare Qatar an enemy state, in a post on X/Twitter on Wednesday.
Bennet accused Doha of supporting Hamas and contributing to the conditions that led to the October 7 massacre.
He said Netanyahu’s UN address would provide an opportunity to highlight what he described as Qatar’s role in supporting Hamas and its military wing.
“Qatar is an enemy – and it’s time the world recognizes this and holds it accountable,” the post read.
Bennett accused Qatar of funding Hamas, celebrating the October 7 attack, hosting Hamas leaders and supporting what he described as radical Islamist terrorism. He also accused Qatar of spreading antisemitic propaganda internationally, including on US university campuses.
Bennett said he would send the UN secretary-general and the ambassadors of the members of the UN Security Council a document he called the “Qatar File,” which he described as a comprehensive record of evidence of Qatar’s alleged involvement in the October 7 massacre.
The former prime minister also called on Netanyahu to remove Qatar from any role in Gaza, arguing that “Qatar funds radical Islamist terror and actively works to destroy the State of Israel.”
“Netanyahu and I are political opponents, but when Israel’s security is on the line, Israelis rise above politics and unite,” Bennett wrote.
Bennett said that declaring Qatar an enemy state would receive support across Israel’s political spectrum and described the move as a step toward preventing another massacre.
He concluded by saying that Israel should “declare Qatar an enemy state, drive them out of Gaza, and defeat Hamas,” and accused Netanyahu of undermining Israel’s national security by not defining Qatar as an enemy.
“Every day Netanyahu refuses to define Qatar as an enemy – and allows them to rule Gaza – is another day that Hamas is rearming and preparing for the next massacre,” Bennet added