Netanyahu’s Government Reportedly Urged Qatar To Keep Money Flowing To Hamas-Run Gaza

Israeli officials reportedly urged Qatar for years to keep sending money into Hamas-controlled Gaza.

Letters top Israeli security officials sent to Qatari leaders show Israel pushed for and helped run a program which moved close to $2 billion into Gaza, TIME reported Sunday. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is running in Israel’s Oct. 27 national elections and was endorsed Sunday by President Donald Trump, has tried to distance himself from the payments, according to the outlet.

Then-Mossad Director Yossi Cohen thanked Qatar’s emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in a 2020 letter for the “humanitarian aid efforts that the State of Qatar has provided the last few years to the Gaza Strip,” according to the outlet.

“Undoubtedly, these humanitarian efforts have played a crucial role in improving the humanitarian situation within the Gaza Strip, and ensuring stability and safety in the region,” Cohen wrote.

That same year, R. L. Maoz, who served on Netanyahu’s National Security Council, urged Qatari officials to keep the payments going even as the Israeli government criticized them in public, according to the outlet. “We reiterate the importance of continuing to transfer the Qatari humanitarian financial assistance through the existing mechanism,” Maoz wrote.

Neither the Embassy of Israel in the United States nor the State of Qatar’s International Media Office immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.