Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman issued an unusual message of condemnation against Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening in response to a Channel 12 recording broadcast on Tuesday in which the Israeli prime minister criticized a military deal struck between Doha and Washington. “Shocked by the statements allegedly attributed to the Israeli Prime Minister,” the Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson wrote on X. “If these statements are true, they are irresponsible and damaging to efforts to save innocent lives, but they are not surprising .”
The Qatari Foreign Ministry added: “The prime minister's comments only undermine negotiations and serve his political interests instead of prioritizing saving innocent lives, including Israeli hostages.”
“Rather than harming Qatar’s strategic relations with the United States, we hope that Netanyahu will decide to act in good faith and focus on the release of the abductees,” the ministry concluded.
In recordings of a meeting between the prime minister and the families of the abductees published yesterday by the Israeli broadcaster, we hear Benjamin Netanyahu launching a full-scale attack against Qatar. “When I talk about Qatar, I don’t hear myself thanking them for it. Did you notice that?” he asks, before continuing: “That's because for me Qatar is not essentially different from the United Nations, it is essentially not different from the Red Cross and in a sense it is even more problematic.”
While telling the families of the abducted people about the ongoing efforts to release them and saying that the pressure being exerted on Qatar is a very important part of it, the head of government added: “The recent extension of the contract with the United States.” The fact that they have a military base in Qatar made me very angry, and I didn't hide it from the Americans. I told them that Qatar must first put pressure on Hamas to ensure that it puts pressure on Qatar [en ne renouvelant pas ce genre de contrat si facilement].”
Due to its proximity to Hamas, Qatar is a key player in negotiations with the terrorist group. Thanks to him, the ceasefire was concluded at the end of November, which enabled the release of around 120 hostages.