Israel's touted next PM Yair Lapid wants Qatar to be named 'enemy state'

Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid is pushing for Qatar to be named an "enemy state" in the latest Israeli political broadside against the Gulf state.

Lapid, who is the biggest challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli political scene, said on X on Sunday that he would begin a bill in the Knesset "Declaring Qatar an Enemy State", which follows months of opposition attacks against the premier on the issue.

"The bill that will be tabled seeks to establish in law that Qatar will be defined as an enemy state and that all provisions applicable in Israeli law to enemy states, in all forms of legislation, will apply to it," he tweeted.

Critics of Netanyahu have repeatedly tried to link his government to Qatar due to Doha's past role in facilitating payments to authorities in Gaza to provide state services and facilitating negotiations between Hamas and Israel.  

It is widely viewed that these measures were essential to preventing a major humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave before the 7 October attacks, while Doha's hosting of Hamas officials at the behest of the US has been important to seeing a ceasefire agreed to end the war on Gaza.

Despite this and Qatar's position as a "major non-NATO ally" of the US, Lapid has continued with his attacks on Qatar and accused Netanyahu of collaborating with Doha.

"For years, the State of Qatar has been acting systematically and continuously contrary to the security and political interests of the State of Israel. While supporting and financing terrorist organizations that fight Israel, primarily the terrorist organization Hamas," he alleged in the tweet.

"Furthermore, the State of Israel is currently in the midst of the most serious security affair in its history, in which Qatar recruited agents from within the Prime Minister's Office. If the bill passes, it will help us promote similar legislation together with the Republican and Democratic parties in the US Congress."

On Monday, there was still no word on the bill, but some Israeli media claimed Lapid had himself met with Qatari officials without the presence of the families of Israeli captives held by Hamas.

Lapid also engaged in a bitter war of words with Netanyahu on the issue on Monday, each accusing the other of working with Qatar.

Qatar is one of the US's strongest Arab allies and has been repeatedly praised by Washington for its diplomatic role in trying to end the war on Gaza and easing oher regional tensions.

Israel was widely criticised for breaking international law when it launched an unnanounced airstrike on a Hamas negotiating team in Doha in September, killing six people including a Qatari serviceman who was part of the security detail.

Qatar has been a strong critic of Israeli aggression in the MENA region and offered humanitarian support for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.