Israel and Qatar: Past and Present

Once upon a time, a singer named Katy Perry released a hit single called “Hot N Cold,” about a guy who keeps flip-flopping on his relationship. The beginning of the chorus went like this: “You’re hot, then you’re cold / You’re yes, then you’re no / You’re in, then you’re out / You’re up, then you’re down…”

I never thought I would use a Katy Perry song to describe the history of Israel-Qatar relations, but here we are. If the shoe fits, wear it.

Israel and Qatar first established unofficial trade relations in 1996, three years after Israel signed a peace treaty with Jordan. This is where our love-hate relationship starts. Qatar was not the only Arab country to establish unofficial relations with Israel at the time; Oman also established trade ties with Israel in the mid-nineties, a time of renewed optimism in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. 

Qatar maintained these trade relations with Israel until 2009, when they broke them off in response to what they perceived as Israeli aggression during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Following this three-week military operation against Hamas, Qatar hosted an emergency conference of Arab states and Iran to discuss the state of the conflict. An Israeli delegation was, of course, not invited. Most notably, Hamas represented the Palestinians instead of the Palestinian Authority, which constituted a blow to the legitimacy of the PA’s leadership in the eyes of the Arab world. At this point, Qatar was positioning itself firmly on the anti-Israel axis, hosting senior Hamas leaders and the hardline Iranian Ahmadinejad regime. 

As the decade turned to the 2010s, however, Qatar expressed a willingness to play both sides. According to a Lebanese newspaper, the country reportedly helped to facilitate the evacuation of 60 Yemeni Jews from Yemen. The report claimed that the evacuating party was allowed to transfer planes in Doha on their way from Yemen to Israel. 

In 2013, the then-Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, acknowledged that land swaps could become part of a final status agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. This was a significant diplomatic victory for Israel at the time, as land swaps would allow Israeli settlements situated close to the 1967 Green Line to remain under Israeli sovereignty in the event of a two-state solution. Given that Israel was still negotiating with the Palestinians at the time, and Qatar had previously aligned itself very strongly with the Palestinian cause, the Gulf nation’s recognition of the legitimacy of land swaps was a very pleasant surprise for Israel. In a moment that feels much longer ago than it actually was, Israeli then-Justice Minister Tzipi Livni reacted positively to Qatar’s position, saying “peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis is ... a strategic choice for the Arab states.”

In the wake of Operation Protective Edge (2014), Israeli political leaders harshly criticised Qatar’s support for Hamas and their providing of a safe haven for their top brass. Then-President Shimon Peres went so far as to call Qatar “the world’s largest funder of terror.” Avigdor Lieberman, a member of the Israeli Knesset, called for the journalists of Qatar-based media outlet Al-Jazeera to be deported from Israel. 

And yet, despite relations between the two countries going up and down over the past fifteen years, Israel and Qatar have managed to put their differences aside when doing so was mutually beneficial. Israeli athletes have long been able to compete in international competitions taking place in Qatar, and Qatar even facilitated direct flights from Tel Aviv to Doha so Israelis could attend the 2022 FIFA World Cup (a decision that likely redeemed the image of Qatar in the eyes of Israeli soccer fans). 

Of course, this has all been a prelude to the pièce de résistance in Israel-Qatar relations: October 7th and the subsequent war in Gaza. Since the very beginning of ceasefire negotiations, Qatar acted as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, working closely with both sides and with the United States. It was through Qatari mediators that Israel and Hamas agreed to each of the three ceasefire deals, including the current agreement that aims to bring an end to the war. 

At the same time, Israeli leaders and members of the public questioned Qatar’s impartiality as a mediator, as Qatar continues to house senior Hamas leaders in fancy villas in Doha. One could say that the love-hate relationship between Israel and Qatar hit a new low on September 9, 2025, when the Israeli Air Force conducted an airstrike on Hamas’s leadership in Doha, in what the IDF called Operation Atzeret HaDin (Day of Judgement). The attack did not kill any of the targeted Hamas leaders, but did accidentally kill one Qatari security official, Lance Corporal Bader Saad Mohammed Al Humaidi Al Dosari. This was, of course, very embarrassing diplomatically for Israel. Not only did the airstrike fail to eliminate its targets, but an Israeli fighter jet had now violated Qatari airspace and killed a Qatari national. Qatar was understandably livid. 

The ramifications of this airstrike are particularly interesting when we consider the domestic Israeli atmosphere in which it occurred. One week before the strike, investigators in the Qatargate probe announced their intention to interview Netanyahu himself regarding the actions of two senior aides in the Prime Minister’s office, Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein. Both men were arrested and questioned for alleged illicit actions while working with a pro-Qatar lobbying firm at the same time that they were in the Prime Minister’s Office. Law enforcement officials alleged that Qatar paid $10 million over the past few years to senior Israeli officials, including Feldstein and Urich. This was a huge news story in Israel, as the public was very concerned about Qatari money influencing Israeli policy and security decisions. So on the one hand, we have Israel showcasing its operational capacity in hostile territory, launching an airstrike 1,700 km from Jerusalem. On the other hand, we see senior Israeli officials having no problem cozying up to Qatar, even at the cost of Israel’s security, as long as it benefits them personally. 

Israel needs to make up its mind about Qatar. Either they are a security risk or they are not. Any more Katy Perry-esque ambivalence on that front will only compromise Israel’s security further. Netanyahu apologized to the Qatari Prime Minister by phone for the airstrike, and Qatar remains part of the mediation process in trying to end this war for good. It is clear that remaining on speaking terms with Qatar can benefit Israel greatly– just ask any of the hostages who were freed in the Qatar-mediated deals. But the Gulf state’s ties with terrorist organizations and their sponsors mean that Israel should not let Qatar’s influence anywhere near their security establishment or civil service. Israel has shown a remarkable capacity to mitigate security threats externally. Let’s see if they can achieve the same goal internally as well.