Yaakov Amidror: "Once the War Ends, We Must Strike Qatar with All Our Might"
Former National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror stated that Qatar plays a destructive role in the region. He argued that once the war concludes, Israel must take a firm stance against the state.
Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and former head of the National Security Council, spoke on 103fm radio regarding the shifting policy of US President Donald Trump, the role of Qatar in the region, potential arrangements in the Gaza Strip, and developments concerning Iran and Hezbollah.
At the beginning of the interview, he said: "People are trying to understand Trump, but it is meaningless. The Gulf states are divided: those who want an agreement out of fear, those who work with the Iranians behind the curtain, like Qatar, and those who oppose the Iranians but are not prepared to attack. Saudi Arabia asked the American president—if Trump reported the truth about his conversation with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—to reach an agreement."
"Ten years ago, a group of American Jews approached me, excited because the Qataris invited them to visit the country," recalled Amidror. "I told them they are of no interest to the Qataris; they just want legitimacy. What they are doing is trying to destroy the State of Israel—not with military force, as they lack such power, but through Al Jazeera and the money they invest globally to turn everyone against us."
Regarding Qatar, he stated: "To my great regret, over the years we gave them too much legitimacy, when in some places we had no choice because they provided us with quiet. I think that overall Qatar is a negative country, and the moment the war ends and things stabilize, we need to strike their head with all our might."
He added: "We don't need to violate the agreement, but it is impossible to do it without the State of Israel. Our country has interests and we must protect them. I would prefer that the weapons leave the Strip, but I don't know what is in the agreement."
"The American command has a headquarters here and commands the foreign forces that arrive," he noted. "No one will open fire on Hamas members except us. If weapons are in a warehouse and we know Hamas opened it, we will bomb the warehouse. We will not ask the Americans; we will notify them that we are attacking so they can remove their forces."
When asked if international forces might interfere with IDF activity in the Gaza Strip, Amidror replied: "They will interfere a lot, because we will hesitate to harm them, while Hamas will not. An international force is not a good thing for us, but if the Americans command it, one should expect them to create a degree of security."
"The Lebanese government wants Hezbollah not to exist"
Addressing American policy toward Iran, Amidror explained: "The Americans look at Iran in two stages: first to open Hormuz, then to ensure Iran does not go nuclear. They are still at the Hormuz stage, which is a preliminary step for nuclear negotiations."
In conclusion, he said: "An agreement will weaken Hezbollah, but not militarily until we see the organization dismantled. We are entering an experiment. The Lebanese government is now setting a condition it did not dare to set in the past: it does not want Hezbollah as an armed organization. We must try to help them, because if they succeed, it will be significant for the entire Arab world."
