Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Monday that if elected prime minister, he would formally declare Qatar an enemy state.

Speaking at the Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth National Security Conference, held in partnership with the Institute for National Security Studies, Bennett said that during his tenure as prime minister, he was exposed to intelligence indicating that Qatar had also funded Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“If I am elected prime minister, I will immediately declare Qatar an enemy state, clearly and unequivocally,” Bennett said. He described Qatar as “a violent antisemitic cancer that sends its metastases throughout the West, even into the office of Israel’s prime minister, with the goal of destroying Israel.”

Bennett rejected the argument that Qatar is a complex country that must be handled cautiously. “After October 7, nothing here is complicated. Qatar is an enemy. It is simple,” he said.

He said Qatar had built an international influence network over the years, including by transferring funds to universities in the United States and through the activities of Al Jazeera.

“Qatar directly funded Hamas with one billion dollars through Netanyahu’s cash suitcases,” Bennett said. “When I was prime minister, intelligence reached me that Qatar had also funded Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.”

Asked whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been exposed to the same intelligence, Bennett replied: “Unequivocally.” He added that Qatar had also funded Hamas and the al-Nusra Front, and criticized Israel’s continued ties with Doha.

Bennett also addressed the campaign against Iran and reiterated the “Octopus Doctrine” he has promoted since 2017. He said Israel should focus on Tehran, the “head of the octopus,” rather than limiting itself to confronting Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)