Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Monday at the INSS conference that in his next government he will declare Qatar an enemy state, describing it as 'a cancer that sends metastases to the West and even to the Prime Minister's office,' according to the source. Bennett's remarks add to his earlier calls to designate Qatar an enemy state.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett intensified his criticism of Qatar at the INSS conference Monday, accusing the Gulf state of 'sending metastases to the West and even to the Prime Minister's office.' The remark, reported by i24NEWS, came as Bennett continued a series of statements that began earlier in the day. At 12:12 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported Bennett's initial claim that intelligence indicated Qatar funded Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and his pledge to declare Qatar an enemy state. Immediately after, at the same conference, Bennett called Qatar an 'antisemitic cancer' with the blood of October 7 victims on its hands, as i24NEWS reported. The new quote extends the metaphor, asserting that Qatari influence has penetrated the highest levels of Israeli government.
The escalation reflects a growing consensus in the security establishment that Qatar's dual role as mediator and terror-funder is no longer tenable, as The Zioneer's Eye on Zion analysis noted earlier today. Bennett has positioned himself as a leading voice against Qatar, framing his criticism as part of a broader campaign against the current government, which he has repeatedly accused of failure. He has not specified when he would form a government to implement the declaration.
Bennett's remarks at the same conference also included a call for a basic inquiry committee into October 7, which he said would have concluded Qatar is an enemy state.
3 developments
- StrongBennett accuses Qatar of funding Al Jazeera in global influence campaign
- DevelopingBennett: Government incapable of advancing Israel — vows election victory
- DevelopingBennett interview sparks backlash: Smotrich warns of ‘terror state’ in Judea and Samaria
- DevelopingNetanyahu: 'They said I have pancreatic cancer, that's a death sentence'
Source and signal
- Open-source intake