Israeli parliament rejects bill to label Qatar as ‘enemy state’

JERUSALEM

Israel’s parliament on Wednesday rejected a bill proposed by opposition leader Yair Lapid to classify Qatar as an “enemy state,” according to Israeli media.

Channel 12 reported that 28 lawmakers supported the bill while 45 voted against it. The report did not specify total attendance in the 120-member Knesset.

The Blue and White party, led by Benny Gantz, boycotted the vote, the channel said, adding: “It was not appropriate to raise political issues during wartime.”

Lapid had introduced the bill last month, according to the same source.

On Sept. 9, 2025, the Israeli army carried out an airstrike targeting Hamas leadership in Doha, an attack Qatar condemned and said killed a member of its internal security forces and five Palestinians, drawing widespread regional and international condemnation.

The strike came despite Qatar’s role, alongside Egypt and under US supervision, in mediating indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel that led to a ceasefire in Gaza that took effect on Oct. 10.

The agreement followed two years of genocide that began in October 2023, resulting in widespread destruction of about 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at around $70 billion.

Palestinian sources say Israel has repeatedly violated the ceasefire, resulting in the deaths of 689 Palestinians in Gaza since October.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul