by Amelie Botbol, Akiva Van Koningsveld
Israel’s Ministerial Committee for Legislation on Sunday advanced a bill to designate Qatar as a “terror-supporting state,” clearing the way for the coalition proposal to be put to a preliminary vote in the Knesset.
The bill, initiated by Likud lawmakers Moshe Saada and Dan Illouz, Otzma Yehudit’s Yitzhak Kroizer and Michal Woldiger of the Religious Zionism Party, advances as the Israeli negotiating team continues to pursue a hostage agreement with Hamas in Doha, where senior leadership of the terrorist organization has long been hosted.
“Qatar has been the financial lifeline of Hamas for years,” Illouz told JNS on Monday. “It hosted Hamas leaders in Doha, poured billions into Gaza, gave platforms to Hezbollah and looked the other way as money flowed to jihadist groups. It dressed up its terror support in diplomacy and PR.”
However, “the mask is off,” the Likud member continued. “Qatar is a state sponsor of terror, and no amount of gas money will buy our silence.”
Illouz explained that the legislation was unlikely to affect the current hostage talks, charging that what harmed the remaining 58 captives is “that Hamas lived like kings in Qatar for over a decade.”
“Qatar played both arsonist and firefighter: funding Hamas while pretending to mediate. That’s not diplomacy — that’s deceit,” Illouz stated, adding: “The only way to stop this game is to call them out.”
“Appeasement got us nowhere. Pressure is the only language they understand,” the coalition member declared. “After Oct. 7, no one can afford to keep playing dumb. Qatar isn’t a neutral broker; it’s part of the problem. And Israel has a duty to say it, loud and clear.”
According to Illouz, Doha “bought silence” through gas deals, think-tank donations and PR campaigns, all while backing Hamas and legitimizing Hezbollah. Even their ties with the Taliban were dressed up as diplomacy,” he added.
Otzma Yehudit lawmaker Yitzhak Kroizer on Tuesday accused Qatar of actively supporting terrorism, saying the Gulf state should no longer be regarded as a legitimate mediator in regional conflicts.
“Qatar has proven over the years that it finances, supports and assists terrorist organizations—led by Hamas, which carried out one of the worst attacks in Israel’s history on Oct. 7,” Kroizer told JNS.
“It is time for the State of Israel to recognize reality: A country that supports the murder of our citizens must be legally recognized as a state that supports terrorism,” he said.
Kroizer blamed the breakdown in hostage negotiations on both Hamas and Qatar. “The responsibility for damaging the talks lies first and foremost with the side that holds the hostages and with the one who finances them—Qatar. There is no contradiction between conducting talks to return the hostages and establishing a consistent and ethical policy against supporters of terrorism,” he added.
He further criticized Qatar’s international image, accusing the country of masking its actions behind diplomacy. “Qatar has tried to buy itself a moderate image, but in its actions—through financing terrorism, incitement and strategic investments that aid Israel’s enemies—it acts exactly like a terrorist state,” he said.
“The legislation aims to correct the absurdity of Qatar being perceived as a ‘legitimate mediator’ while being part of the problem itself,” he added.
Qatar, which has hosted Hamas’s leadership and has provided the organization with hundreds of millions of dollars, played a role in mediating the freedom of some hostages held by the terror group.
Doha has deflected accusations of playing a double game, saying that the United States requested that it open the mediation channel with Hamas.
In April, after two of his aides were arrested on charges of allegedly having worked to advance Qatar’s interests in the Jewish state, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the Gulf nation as “a complex country, not a simple country,” noting that Doha is “not an enemy country, and many praise it.”
