Israeli Knesset rejects proposal to classify Qatar as an 'enemy state'

The Israeli Knesset, on Wednesday, voted against a bill proposed by opposition leader Yair Lapid aimed at including Qatar on the list of 'enemy states' to Israel. The vote resulted in 45 members rejecting the proposal versus only 28 supporting it, reflecting a state of divergence within Israeli political circles regarding Qatar's role in the region.

The session saw a notable boycott by the 'Blue and White' party led by Benny Gantz, with the party justifying its stance by stating that the current time, coinciding with war conditions, is not suitable for raising contentious political issues. Media sources indicated that this position contributed to weakening the front of supporters for the law, through which Lapid sought to intensify pressure on Doha.

Following the failure of the vote, Yair Lapid launched a sharp attack on the government, considering that there is no logical justification for not classifying Qatar as an enemy state, especially since it hosts Hamas leaders. Lapid claimed in his statements that anyone who provides assistance to those he described as 'enemies' should be treated as a direct enemy, accusing the ruling coalition of failing to take a firm stance.

The opposition leader directly accused Jonathan Urich, a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of being behind the failure to pass the law. Lapid claimed that Urich received huge sums of money from Qatari entities, pointing out that the presence of employees in the Prime Minister's office receiving money from external parties is unacceptable and warrants investigation.

These accusations are linked to what is known as the 'Qatargate scandal' within Israel, where Urich and former Ministry of Security spokesman Eli Feldstein faced accusations of receiving bribes. According to investigations, the accused worked with American lobbying groups to spread narratives aimed at distorting the Egyptian mediation role, in exchange for promoting the Qatari narrative in the prisoner exchange and ceasefire file.

For its part, Doha continues to deny these allegations entirely, with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani affirming on previous occasions that these accusations are nothing but political 'propaganda'. Qatar stressed that its role as an international mediator aims to achieve stability, away from the political squabbles that some Israeli parties are trying to export.

It is worth noting that relations witnessed dangerous field tension in September 2025, when occupation forces targeted headquarters in Doha, leading to the martyrdom of a Qatari security officer and five Palestinians. Despite these tensions, Qatari efforts, in cooperation with Egypt and the United States, succeeded in reaching an agreement earlier this year that led to a halt in the genocide war launched by the occupation on the Gaza Strip.

I have no logical explanation for not classifying Qatar as an enemy state of Israel, for anyone who helps our enemies is our enemy.