Bennett pledges to maintain Yellow Line in Gaza, declare Qatar enemy state, redirect national funds

Jerusalem Post/Israel Election 2026"Right now, the current government's approach, essentially Bibi's [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] approach, is to get us used to living alongside Hamas," Bennett said. Follow us on GoogleNaftali Bennett at the Gaza Border Communities Conference, October 18, 2026.(photo credit: Maayan Tzuberi)OCTOBER 21, 2026 02:03Former prime minister and B'Yachad party leader Naftali Bennett pledged to maintain the Yellow Line in Gaza and declare Qatar an enemy state in an effort to destroy Hamas if elected at the Gaza Border Communities Conference 2026 on Sunday. Bennett said that maintaining the Yellow Line was essential to the security of Gaza border communities and accused Netanyahu's government of complacency."Right now, the current government's approach, essentially Bibi's [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] approach, is to get us used to living alongside Hamas. There is no real attempt to eliminate it," Bennett said. Bennett also criticized Netanyahu's government's ties with Qatar, calling on the Prime Minister to explain his and his advisers' relationship with Qatar before the election and pledging to declare it an enemy state if elected. In order to defeat Hamas, Bennett said that in addition to designating Qatar an enemy, he would enlist Egypt in the effort and apply diplomatic and economic pressure on Hamas. He added that he would resort to military action if necessary to dismantle the terror group entirely.IDF troops operate in the northern Gaza Strip to defend and clear terrorist infrastructure from the area of the Yellow Line, September 2, 2026. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)Bennett also said that he had advanced a plan to kill Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif in the summer of 2022 when he was prime minister, but that the plan fell through due to the collapse of his government.Bennett calls for revolution in government fundingBennett also called for an increase in funding for Gaza border communities.He said national funding priorities would shift in a "revolution for those who serve," with resources currently allocated to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community redirected toward other national needs.Bennet said he intended to establish a coalition composed solely of Zionist parties with whom he expressed confidence his coalition could secure a majority of 61 Knesset seats.Regarding the office of the prime minister, he said that he respected Gadi Eisenkot, would accept the voters' decision, and that the matter would be decided after the elections.Follow us on Google