Qatar faced severe criticism from Israeli officials following the attacks on October 7th, carried out by the Palestinian group Hamas, due to sending millions of dollars over the years in the form of aid to the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the movement classified as terrorist by the United States. However, despite the criticism, this aid "arrived with Israel's approval and under the watch of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continued this policy despite warnings from within his government," according to a report by CNN.
In this context, Qatar affirmed that it will continue sending money to Gaza. Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Khalifi, stated in remarks to the American network: "We will not change our commitment, and we will continue to provide assistance and support to our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and we will continue to do so systematically as we have before."
Since 2018, Qatar began transferring around $15 million monthly to the Gaza Strip after the Palestinian Authority decided to stop paying salaries to government employees in Gaza since 2017. These funds "arrived in bags to Israel before reaching the sector," according to CNN. The Palestinian Authority opposed this step at the time, while Hamas indicated that the funds were for "government employee salaries and medical purposes." Israel agreed to the deal during a government meeting in August 2018 while Netanyahu was in a previous term as Prime Minister, according to the American network.
At that time, Netanyahu faced criticism from his governmental coalition over the deal, which was described as a "too soft" approach toward Hamas, but he pointed out that the step "was coordinated with security experts, aiming to restore calm to the towns (in southern Israel) and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe (in Gaza)."
Failure to "Tame Hamas"
Israeli and international reports indicated that Netanyahu's plan aimed at "continuing Hamas's existence as a parallel power to the authority and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state," while officials in the authority considered its aim to be "reinforcing the division among Palestinians," according to the American network. Former senior official at the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Amos Gilad, told the American network: "Netanyahu supported the plan, but it did not have the backing of the Israeli intelligence community."
He added that some views indicated that the plan would "weaken Palestinian sovereignty," alongside a "delusion" that "if they (Hamas) were fed money, they would be tamed." On October 7th, the Palestinian movement launched attacks against southern Israeli towns, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people, mostly civilians including women and children, according to Israeli authorities. Israel responded with intensive airstrikes on the sector accompanied by a ground invasion since October 27th, resulting in more than 18,000 deaths, mostly civilians including women and children, according to Gaza health authorities.
Qatar confirmed that it will continue to financially support Gaza after the war, while European countries are working to impose new sanctions on Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organization by the European Union, the United States, and Israel. Former Israeli National Security Adviser Shlomo Brom explained in remarks to the New York Times on Sunday that "Netanyahu's deal with Qatar to send money to Hamas helped him avoid negotiations regarding the establishment of a Palestinian state."
He added, "The division among Palestinians supported his narrative of the non-existence of a peace partner among Palestinians, thus avoiding pressure to enter into peace negotiations leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state." In remarks to CNN, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, "After years of expressing my concerns to Netanyahu's government when I was Minister of Education, I decided myself when I became Prime Minister in 2021 to stop the flow of money to Gaza," explaining, "Why are we supplying them with money to kill us?"
Netanyahu under Fire
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, criticized Netanyahu, describing him on Sunday as a "clear and present danger" to his country, calling for his resignation "before he causes more harm to Israel." The former diplomat stated in a post on X platform that "Netanyahu's insistence on remaining in power at any cost is a clear and present danger to Israel. He should have resigned yesterday!" Indyk, who was tasked with working on drafting an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement during his tenure as special envoy for President Barack Obama in the Middle East between 2013 and 2014, stated that the Israeli Prime Minister "needs to resign before he causes more damage to Israel."
On Sunday, the Qatari Prime Minister confirmed that mediation efforts to renew the truce in the war between Israel and Hamas are ongoing, despite the intense Israeli bombardment that "restricts the space" to achieve the desired outcomes. For his part, Netanyahu has strongly denied accusations that he allowed Qatar to fund and strengthen Hamas in order to "divide Palestinians into competing political camps," describing these claims as "ridiculous."
In an interview with Axel Springer, the parent company of Politico, he stated, "It's a big lie to say I wanted to build Hamas's capabilities," adding in denial of these allegations: "You wouldn't go to war three times with Hamas or carry out significant military operations if you wanted to build Hamas." Gilad continued his conversation with CNN, asserting that "he was among the opponents of sending money to Hamas," describing the flow over the years as a "tragic mistake." He also noted that Qatari funds "helped Hamas strengthen its grip on Gaza, and for them (Hamas) it was like oxygen."
