The latest statements by Qatar's Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, once again reveal Doha's dangerous political duplicity. Instead of using its influence to reduce tensions in the Middle East, the Qatari leadership continues to accuse Israel while showing remarkable indulgence toward the very forces that have destabilized the region for decades.
The Qatari authorities crossed the line long ago. It is no longer possible to speak of Doha as a neutral mediator. Qatar has become one of the principal sources of instability in the Middle East, acting openly against Israel and, in many cases, indirectly against the strategic interests of the United States and its allies.
Particularly cynical are Qatar's statements regarding Lebanon. Lebanese state officials themselves have openly acknowledged that their country's tragedy stems from the existence of an armed organization operating outside the authority of the state and against the interests of the Lebanese people.
Lebanon's Justice Minister, Adel Nassar, recently described Hezbollah as an "Iranian forward military base" and warned that its activities continue to drag Lebanon into destructive conflicts. The Lebanese government has demanded that decisions of war and peace be restored to the exclusive authority of the legitimate state.
Against this backdrop, Qatar's accusations against Israel are not merely hypocritical; they are dangerous. One cannot claim to defend Lebanon's sovereignty while ignoring the terrorist organization that systematically undermines that very sovereignty.
But the problem with Qatar is much broader.
We are often told that concerns about Qatar's policies exist only in Israel. This is simply untrue.
In June 2017, four major Arab states—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt—took the unprecedented step of severing diplomatic relations with Qatar and imposing a regional boycott. They openly accused Doha of supporting terrorism, financing extremist organizations, interfering in the affairs of neighboring states, and destabilizing the Middle East.
This was not Israel's judgment of Qatar. It was the verdict of the Arab world.
The demands presented to Qatar were clear: end support for radical groups, cease interference in the internal affairs of other states, limit cooperation with Iran, and stop using financial and media instruments to destabilize the region. The subsequent diplomatic reconciliation did not erase the reasons that led to the crisis in the first place.
Today, Israel is confronting precisely the problem that several Arab governments warned the world about in 2017.
Another deeply troubling issue is Qatar's extensive effort to shape anti-Israel sentiment within academic and intellectual circles across Europe and North America. Through the financing of university programs, research institutes, advocacy groups, and international organizations, an atmosphere has been created in which Israel is increasingly portrayed as the principal source of instability in the Middle East.
We are witnessing a disturbing phenomenon: on some of the world's leading campuses, ideas that excuse terrorism, demonize the Jewish state, and create fertile ground for antisemitism are spreading under the banners of academic freedom and human rights.
Equally concerning is the sophisticated network of financial and political influence through which this agenda is advanced.
Those who believe concerns about Qatar's influence are exaggerated should consider a recent development in Germany. Qatar's sovereign wealth fund owns approximately 17 percent of the voting shares in Volkswagen and holds seats on the company's supervisory board. When the Israeli defense company Rafael expressed interest in acquiring a German plant to manufacture components for the Iron Dome missile-defense system, reports indicated that the Qatari side opposed the transaction.
It is worth emphasizing that this was not about offensive weaponry. It concerned a defensive system designed to protect civilians from rocket attacks.
This example is highly instructive. Qatar not only uses diplomacy, media outlets, and academic programs. It also uses its financial influence in major Western corporations to advance its political agenda and, when possible, to obstruct cooperation with Israel.
That is why it is no longer sufficient to describe Qatar merely as a mediator. We are dealing with a state that simultaneously participates in diplomatic initiatives while using its political and economic leverage to undermine the interests of the Jewish state.
One cannot provide safe haven to Hamas leaders, politically support forces committed to Israel's destruction, and still claim to be an honest broker.
For Israel, Qatar and Turkey ceased long ago to be neutral states. Their policies are widely perceived as openly hostile to the interests and security of the Jewish state.
The rulers of Qatar appear to recognize few moral restraints. They accuse Israel while failing to mention that many of those eliminated during periods of ceasefire were terrorists actively threatening Israeli soldiers and civilians. They speak of casualties but remain silent about those preparing the next attacks.
For many years, Hamas leaders and ideologues lived in Doha as though they were in the Garden of Eden—a paradise of safety, comfort, and political protection. There they met, planned, and exerted influence over events across the region.
When Israel struck Hamas's terrorist infrastructure and leadership, some believed that Doha would reconsider its conduct. The opposite occurred. Qatar's attacks on Israel have become more vocal, and its efforts to portray the Jewish state as the chief source of regional instability have only intensified.
One may continue to appeal to democratic nations and international organizations to take a firmer stance. Yet recent years have demonstrated the limitations of such hopes. Too often, economic interests prevail over principles. Oil, gas, investments, and strategic business partnerships frequently prove stronger than political resolve.
This is the unfortunate reality of our time.
I do not criticize the United States for using Qatar as a mediator. President Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to achieve what many believed impossible. He helped bring our hostages home—some alive and, tragically, some deceased. To achieve this, he employed unconventional means and even made use of actors that can hardly be described as friends of Israel. Perhaps, in time, we will fully understand the strategic thinking behind this policy.
But one fact is already clear: Qatar is neither an honest nor a neutral mediator. Its policies have, for many years, objectively strengthened forces that openly proclaim the destruction of Israel as their goal.
Israel must draw the necessary conclusions.
The organizers, financiers, ideologues, and political sponsors of terrorism bear no less responsibility than those who carry out acts of terror. Those who provide sanctuary to terrorists, finance their activities, grant them political legitimacy, or incite hatred against the Jewish state cannot be absolved of responsibility.
Israel has both the right and the duty to protect its citizens by all lawful means, to confront terrorist infrastructures, and to pursue accountability for those who organize, finance, and encourage terrorism wherever they may be.
The time has come to move beyond words.
The State of Israel must make clear that the era of impunity for the sponsors and architects of terror must come to an end. A nation has an obligation to defend its citizens not only from those who pull the trigger, but also from those who give the orders, provide the funding, offer safe haven, and spread incitement.
Jewish tradition offers a profound lesson.
The prophet Balaam came intending to curse the people of Israel. He harbored hostile intentions, yet God warned him: "You shall not curse this people, for they are blessed." Instead of a curse, Balaam was compelled to utter words that Jews have recited in prayer for thousands of years:
"How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel."
But the story of Balaam did not end there. The biblical narrative tells us that he later perished during Israel's war against Midian. His fate became an enduring reminder that schemes directed against the Jewish people ultimately lead not to triumph, but to the moral and historical defeat of those who devise them.
Names change. Empires rise and fall. Rulers come and go. Yet one truth remains constant: those who build their policies on hatred of the Jewish state, who inspire, finance, or justify terror against Israel, ultimately face the consequences of their own actions.
The people of Israel have outlived all their enemies and will outlive the present ones as well. So it was in the past. So it is today. And so it shall be in the future.
That has always been the fate of those who come against a people that has been blessed.
Mikhail Mirilashvili is President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.