Former Mossad Chief admits to government funding for Hamas via Qatar, calls policy a mistake

Former Mossad Director Yossi Cohen told the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) that the Israeli government had approached the Qatari government to work to fund civilian life in the Gaza Strip, something that was formally authorized by the State of Israel. 

The policy included funding for health, education, and other aspects of civilian life in the Gaza Strip. 

When asked about the initiative and if it was implemented to prevent conflict, or rather an "explosion" from Gaza aimed at Israel, Cohen told MEMRI, "Absolutely."

According to Cohen, the idea behind the policy was to ensure that Israel didn't leave the Gaza Strip and its residents "out to dry, from a financial perspective."

Cohen said that much of the power was in Israel's hands, noting, "Had we wanted to prevent any civilian economy in the Gaza Strip, we could have shut down border crossings, as we did during every round of violence between us and them."

He elaborated on this by pointing to Israel's policy of employing thousands of Gazan workers in Israel, all of this done to "sustain the economy in the Gaza Strip."

In the interview with MEMRI, it was reported that Cohen, along with the IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, back when he was commander of the IDF's Southern Command, had flown to Qatar and negotiated transfers of money to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

Cohen said this policy resulted from the state's national strategy and was secret until, as Cohen claims, "we were exposed in the media in this matter."

Funding life in Gaza gave Palestinians something to lose 

The rationale, Cohen said, was to ensure proper civilian and economic life in the Gaza Strip and prevent future escalations with Hamas. He noted that "wherever the population lives under oppression and poverty, you say: Let's increase their well-being so that they have something to lose."

The main criticism of this plan was that Hamas was able to utilize these funds, divert them from civilians, and use them to build tunnels and weapons and to train terrorists, all of which culminated in the deadly October 7 attacks. 

Cohen responded to this criticism by saying that he had always seen the plan to negotiate funds for Hamas through the Qataris as a mistake.