Netanyahu pressed Qatar to continue funding Gaza despite security warnings, report finds

An Israeli Channel 12 News investigation has revealed that the Israeli government sought to ensure that Qatar continued transferring funds to the occupied Gaza Strip before 7 October 2023, despite warnings from security officials that the money was strengthening Hamas. The report details how Qatar became instrumental to Israel's policies in the besieged enclave over the past 15 years. The policy, spearheaded by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu between 2011 and 2023, involved Qatari officials transferring tens of millions of US dollars in cash to the Gaza Strip in an effort to maintain stable relations between Israel and Hamas.

The investigation describes a process in which Israeli government and security officials asked Qatar to transfer the funds, while senior military officers reportedly received expensive gifts from Doha. According to the report, the close connections between Qatar and Israel over Gaza were first discussed in 2011, during a secret meeting organised by then French President Nicolas Sarkozy. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Netanyahu and his Qatari counterpart Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani met at the Presidential Palace in Paris, where Al Thani offered his country's help in negotiating the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive by Hamas since 2006.

During the meeting, Al Thani also offered to transfer building materials, including cement and iron, to help rebuild the Palestinian enclave destroyed by Israeli bombardment. Although Shalit was eventually released in late 2011 through Egyptian mediation, the Paris meeting was quickly followed by closer connection between the two countries, the report said. Israel allowed Qatari officials access to the Gaza Strip, while Qatar pledged to transfer $400m to the enclave in 2012.

Two years later, following the 2014 Gaza war, Israel's policy of involving Qatar in Gaza was further institutionalised, with Doha announcing a $1bn transfer to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. Suitcases of cash despite intelligence warnings During those years, suitcases containing millions of dollars were delivered from Qatar to the Gaza Strip with the Israeli government's full approval, while the policy was kept secret, including from officials within Israel's security agencies.

Mohammed al-Emadi, Qatar's envoy to Gaza, was at the centre of these operations, developing close relationships with senior Israeli military officials over the years, the report said. Emadi was tasked with delivering the suitcases of cash to Gaza, initially raising suspicions at Shin Bet, Israel's internal security agency. However, following a brief inquiry, the agency discovered that the transfers were being made with Netanyahu's approval.

Over the years, Netanyahu had several opportunities to end the transfer of Qatari funds to Gaza, which security officials warned were helping Hamas build its power. The Israeli prime minister, however, refused to do so, maintaining the policy until the outbreak of the Hamas-led 7 October attacks. ‘We do not want to die from the cold’: Gaza families struggle as rain floods shelters Read More » According to the report, Netanyahu rejected proposals by military officials to transfer the Qatari money to Gaza in Israeli shekels and through the Palestinian Authority, preferring instead for the funds to be delivered in dollars directly to Hamas.

Despite repeated warnings from security officials, Netanyahu ignored their concerns and continued to strengthen the connections between Israel and Qatar, the investigation indicated. In 2020, when Qatar sought to stop the transfers, Netanyahu instructed then Mossad director Yossi Cohen to find an alternative source of funding. Cohen reportedly met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then the ruler of Abu Dhabi and now the president of the UAE, asking them to replace Doha.

After both leaders refused, Cohen was sent to Qatar to persuade the emirate to continue transferring funds to Gaza. Qatar ultimately continued the transfers until 2023. Over the years of his mission, the report said, the Qatari envoy to Gaza also gave gifts worth tens of thousands of shekels to officials in the Israeli army, Mossad and the National Security Council. Effie Defrin, the current Israeli army spokesperson, received gifts from Qatar in 2022 while serving in another role in the army's Spokesperson's Unit, as did other senior officers, the report added.

The investigation concluded that Netanyahu and former prime minister Naftali Bennett continued the policy of transferring funds to Gaza despite warnings from security officials. It added that, just a week before the 7 October attacks, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 taken captive by Hamas, Netanyahu instructed the Mossad to secure additional funding from Qatar. Copyright © 2014 - 2026 . Middle East Eye. All rights reserved.

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