Netanyahu committed crime by striking Qatar – Yaakov Kedmi

Speaking with Alpha News, Yaakov Kedmi, former head of the Israeli intelligence agency “Nativ,” commented on Israel’s strikes on Qatar, the tensions between Turkey and Israel, and the ongoing crisis between Azerbaijan and Russia.

“Operations like this reflect our traditional approach. We eliminate terrorists everywhere. So our attack on the gathering of Hamas leaders in Qatar is nothing new. Anyone familiar with our history knows we’ve always done this. On the other hand, any operation—military or counterterrorism—must have a purpose. It is not just about eliminating or killing certain individuals. In politics, in the army, and in military actions, it is not enough to be strong or feel justified—you have to be smart.

Netanyahu took this step against the recommendations of Mossad, the head of the National Security Council, and the Chief of the General Staff. Everyone said it must not be done. Not for reasons of humanity or Qatar’s sovereignty—that doesn’t concern us—but because it would harm Israel and fail to achieve its goal. And the only entity capable of conducting such operations is Mossad. Mossad did not participate in this operation. The Mossad director said, ‘We cannot carry out this operation,’ not because they were incapable, but because they didn’t see it as necessary. As a result, the operation failed. Almost none of Hamas’s leadership was harmed, and even if we had eliminated them—what would it have led to? Nothing. It wouldn’t have accelerated anything—it might have slowed things down or endangered the lives of hostages. It wouldn’t have ended the conflict in Gaza. Israel gained no benefit from this as a state or as a military—no success. It sharply worsened our relations with Arab countries that had previously been ready to sign agreements with Israel. Today, they are uniting against Israel because they feel threatened. We have severely damaged our relations with the US and Arab nations. Moreover, it hurt the prestige of the United States,” Kedmi said.