By Mirna Fahmy

For many years, and especially in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks, Israel has been unequivocal in its public criticism of Qatar, branding it a “terror-supporting state.” This accusation, amplified by Israeli media and political figures, is rooted in Qatar’s perceived support for groups like Hamas and its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. While this hostile narrative seeks to diplomatically isolate Qatar, it masks a far more complex reality—a series of revelations that suggest a deeply intertwined, if often covert, relationship between the two nations, particularly concerning the Al Jazeera media network.

This public-facing animosity stands in stark contrast to the network’s on-the-ground presence in Israel and its surprising cooperation with Israeli officials. A deeper look at the history of Al Jazeera’s relationship with Israel reveals a strategic, and often paradoxical, dynamic that belies the public feud.

Al Jazeera: A Hostile Mouthpiece?

Al Jazeera, the Qatar-funded media network established in 1996, has long been a source of contention for Israel. Widely seen as a reflection of the Qatari government’s political agenda, the network has been accused of promoting the political narratives of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Secretly leaked communications have reportedly indicated its editorial line is influenced by these groups, a charge it consistently denies.

Israeli officials and the military have openly accused Al Jazeera of being part of Hamas’s media machine, alleging it spreads propaganda and that some of its journalists have links to Hamas’s military wing. The channel was officially shut down in Israel in May 2024, after years of failed attempts, in a move that was widely seen as a punitive measure against the Qatari government.

The conflict in Gaza has been especially deadly for Al Jazeera’s journalists. In a recent Israeli airstrike in August 2025, five of the network’s journalists were reportedly killed near Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital. This tragic incident, along with other targeted strikes that have claimed the lives of at least six notable Al Jazeera journalists, has sparked global condemnation and intensified tensions between Israel and Qatar. Israel has alleged that some of the targeted journalists were involved with Hamas, claims the network vehemently denies.

The Adversary’s Platform

Despite the public condemnation and the recent ban, a fascinating history of cooperation exists between Al Jazeera and Israel. The very closure of the channel’s office in 2024 highlights this paradox. As far back as 2018 when there were decisions roaming about the channel’s closure, Israeli media outlets had noted that Al Jazeera presented a relatively balanced image of Israel to the Arab world by consistently hosting Israeli officials and leaders on its platforms.

The director of Unit 8200 of the Israeli Military Intelligence Service, for example, reportedly objected to a previous government plan to shut down Al Jazeera’s office in Tel Aviv. The director of Al Jazeera’s offices in Israel, Walid al-Omari, also expressed disbelief at the prospect of a closure to Yedioth Ahronoth, highlighting the channel’s role in allowing Israeli military spokesmen, political experts, and even prime ministers to present the Israeli position. “Where can you find another Arab channel that partners with Israelis and allows them to conduct interviews in Hebrew?”

Even at that time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself has praised Al Jazeera in the past. In an interview with Israel’s Army Radio “Galei Tzahal”, he called on Israeli networks to emulate the Qatari channel, stating that it “shows more respect and gives more time to respond or answer.”

This dynamic suggests that for years, Israel’s security establishment and political leadership viewed Al Jazeera not merely as a hostile entity, but as a useful, if controversial, tool for reaching a broader Arab audience.

“No Jews, No News” and Global Agendas

The focus of Al Jazeera’s coverage has also drawn sharp criticism. The channel’s heavy emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly the plight of Gazans, has led to a widely-held conclusion in some circles that “No Jews, No News.” Critics point to what they see as a disproportionate focus on this conflict compared to other massacres and wars in the Arabic-speaking world, such as the Sudan war, the persecution of Yazidis and Christians by ISIS in Iraq, or the mass killings of Christians by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

This focus, critics argue, triggers religious and emotional sentiments among viewers, often at the expense of logical and source-based reporting. This perception is part of a broader criticism that the channel promotes antisemitic rhetoric and biased narratives, even as it has taken disciplinary action against content like Holocaust denial.

The channel’s critics, particularly from rival Arab nations, have gone further. Emirati journalist Tariq Al-Zarouni, a former Al Jazeera broadcaster, claimed in an exclusive interview with the Egyptian newspaper Youm7 in 2020, that the channel “translates the agendas of global intelligence agencies, most notably the Israeli Mossad.” He asserted that Al Jazeera’s purpose, particularly since the 2010 Arab Spring revolutions, was to incite chaos and “destroy stable Arab regimes” in accordance with a plan he attributed to former U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Al-Zarouni characterized the network as a “project of division” that brings together disparate and conflicting ideologies, from Islamists to atheists and Jews.

It is this cocktail of strategic utility, public animosity, and conflicting accusations—that Al Jazeera is both a Hamas mouthpiece and a tool of Israeli and Western intelligence—that defines the surreal and contradictory nature of the relationship.

Beyond the Media Screen

The media narrative is just one part of a larger story. In a January 2025 interview on Israel’s Channel 12, Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stated that Qatar had funded Gaza at the explicit request of the Israeli government. He added that the presence of a Hamas office in Doha was fully coordinated with the U.S. to ensure security for Israelis.

These claims were reinforced by Israeli politician Avigdor Liberman’s 2020 statements, in which he accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of “begging” Qatar to continue its financial support to Hamas. Liberman’s claims of Israel paying “protection money” to maintain calm in Gaza underscore the notion that Israel’s public stance on Qatar as a terror-supporting state is strategically distinct from its private, pragmatic dealings with the Gulf nation.

The relationship between Israel and Qatar exemplifies strategic double-dealing. It’s a scenario in which public foes become private partners, and a media outlet serves as both a propaganda arm and a diplomatic tool. While the public perceives a furious feud, what has been reported by many outlets points to a complicated, hidden partnership of convenience that has been meticulously handled for years.