Bennett Calls Qatargate “The Most Severe Betrayal in Israel’s History”

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett clashed sharply Tuesday night with the ruling Likud after issuing a public statement accusing figures connected to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office of acting on behalf of Qatar during Israel’s war with Hamas.  The clash followed media reports over the past day suggesting that advisers linked to the Prime Minister’s Office may have been involved in the affair, known as “Qatargate,” which is still under police investigation.

Bennett said he decided to speak following the latest reports, which raised the possibility that senior figures connected to Netanyahu’s office were involved. Framing the issue as a grave security matter, he opened his statement by saying, “The words I am about to say are painful for me as a Jew and as an Israeli, but I stand behind every one of them.”

According to Bennett, investigators are examining suspicions that advisers and spokespeople connected to Netanyahu’s office served as public-relations agents for the Qatari government. “These advisers work diligently to advance the Qatari interest, exploiting their unique status as representatives of the prime minister,” Bennett said. “After each such action, they send a report on the results of their activity to their Qatari handlers.” He added bluntly, “Let me be clear: Qatar is Hamas.”

Bennett continued his attack:  “While our heroic fighters are fighting and falling in battles against Hamas in the alleys of Khan Yunis, those advisers are working for pay on behalf of Qatar, the state that funds Hamas terrorists,” he said.

Escalating his language, Bennett described the affair as unprecedented in Israel’s history. “This betrayal is a knife in the heart of our heroic soldiers, and a knife in the heart of the entire people of Israel,” he said. “This is the most severe betrayal in the history of the State of Israel, because it does not come from minor figures like the spies Udi Adiv or Mordechai Vanunu, but from the most senior and powerful people in Israel.”He said that if agents were indeed planted inside the Prime Minister’s Office, it would represent “a significant intelligence and security success for our enemies in Qatar.”

Despite the severity of his claims, Bennett said he was not accusing Netanyahu himself of directing the alleged activity. “I am not claiming, at this stage, that Netanyahu ordered this or even knew that his closest advisers were receiving hundreds of thousands of shekels from the enemy,” he said. “But I am asking a simple question: why is Netanyahu silent? Why does he continue, to this very moment, to cover up the betrayal in his office?”

Bennett called on Netanyahu to address the affair publicly, dismiss the advisers involved, and demand a thorough security investigation. He said the prime minister should summon the head of the Shin Bet and the police commissioner “and demand that they open a deep security investigation to expose the entire network of agents.” Bennett also appealed directly to the Shin Bet and the Israel Police to investigate the matter fully.

Likud rejected the claims, saying that Srulik Einhorn, a political strategist, and Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman linked to Netanyahu during the war, and both named in recent reporting on the affair, were never formally part of the Prime Minister’s Office. “On the contrary,” the statement said, “since the start of the war, the Prime Minister’s Office and the prime minister have attacked Qatar, and Qatar has attacked the prime minister countless times.”

Likud added that Netanyahu had faced criticism from Israeli media and senior security officials for attacking Qatar, on the grounds that it could endanger hostage negotiations. Turning the attack back on Bennett, the party said, “It would be better if Bennett, who chose to use the word ‘betrayal,’ looked at himself.”

The statement accused Bennett of betraying his voters by forming a government with the Muslim Brotherhood, which Bennett himself had previously defined as a sister movement of Hamas. Likud also claimed that Bennett allowed thousands of Gazan workers into Israel before October 7, and alleged that he was inventing “blood libels” to divert attention from other matters. The party further asserted that “the court has already ruled that Qatargate is ‘Qatar-fake’ and that no offense exists,” a claim Bennett rejects.