Bennett vows to ‘eliminate Hamas,’ declare Qatar an enemy and reject territorial concessions to Palestinians

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Israel should abandon what he called Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of “living with Hamas,” pledging to destroy the group and designate Qatar an enemy state if he returns to power.

“I reject Netanyahu’s current doctrine of living with Hamas,” Bennett said. “We must not live with Hamas. We must eliminate Hamas.”

Bennett argued that Hamas could not be dismantled while Qatar remained involved in the U.S.-backed Gaza Board of Peace, accusing Doha of supporting the group. “Therefore, I will declare Qatar an enemy,” he said.

Bennett has made the Qatar pledge a central part of his campaign, while also calling for Egypt to take a larger role in Gaza and saying military force should remain an option if Hamas is not dismantled through diplomatic and economic pressure.

On the Palestinian issue, Bennett reiterated his opposition to territorial concessions, saying: “I will not hand over a single centimeter of land from this country to the Palestinians.”

Bennett has consistently opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state and supports continued Israeli control over strategic areas of the West Bank.