Israel just steered Qatar's billions into Gaza while condemning the money in public

TIME magazine just dropped new documents on Israel and Qatar.

And they say Israel didn't just allow Qatar's money into Gaza. Israel helped run it.

This lands nine days before Israel's election.

So let's get into it.

Qatar started sending money into Gaza back in 2007, right after Hamas took over. Ehud Olmert was Israel's Prime Minister then. Israel wasn't involved yet.

That changed in 2012. Benjamin Netanyahu's government started facilitating the payments. And it went further than facilitating.

Israel helped deliver food and medical supplies. Israel helped decide which Palestinian families got aid. Israel helped hand out the funds. Israel even helped Qatar pay for Gaza's electricity.

By 2018, Qatar had sent around $1.1 billion into Gaza. That's according to an analysis given to Israeli ministers, reported by Haaretz.

Over more than a decade, the total got close to $2 billion.

Here's the twist. While Israel was helping run this, Netanyahu's government was publicly attacking Qatar for funding Hamas.

That contradiction is the whole story.

In 2018, Israeli officials accused Qatar of financing Hamas, out loud, in public. So Qatar asked for something in writing. Proof of Israel's role.

On 2 October 2018, Israel, Qatar and the United Nations signed an agreement to fund fuel deliveries into Gaza. An informal arrangement just became official.

That same year, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority President, cut payments to Gaza's government workers. So what did Israel do? Israeli security officials carried Qatari cash into Gaza in suitcases. US and Israeli media reported it at the time.

Naftali Bennett was Netanyahu's education minister back then. He called the payments protection money. In public.

So Netanyahu was running the system and criticising the system. At the same time.

In January 2019, Netanyahu briefly suspended the payments. Violence was flaring along the Gaza border. He wanted Hamas to stop firing rockets.

A letter from July that year shows Qatar telling Netanyahu's government it was sending $6 million to 20,000 people in Gaza. $300 each.

Nobody knows how many of those people had links to Hamas.

Then in 2020, somebody inside Netanyahu's own National Security Council got involved. R. L. Maoz wrote to Qatari officials. Asking them to keep the humanitarian payments going. Despite the public criticism.

Maoz even asked for the money to go through one specific person. Mohammed Al-Emadi, the Qatari official who chaired Gaza's reconstruction committee.

And that same year, Israel's spy chief wrote to Qatar too.

Yossi Cohen was running Mossad in 2020. He wrote to Qatar's Emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. To say thank you.

Cohen says quote "gratitude and appreciation for the humanitarian aid efforts" Qatar had given Gaza.

Israel Hayom says that letter was sent in December 2020. TIME only says 2020. That bit isn't fully nailed down.

But here's the point. Netanyahu was criticising Qatar in public. And Israel's own spy chief was thanking Qatar in private. For the same money.

And the payments kept going.