Bennett and Kariv heckle Netanyahu over Qatar in new Knesset's first sitting

Opposition leader Naftali Bennett interrupted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a speech in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, shouting a question about the prime minister's "Qatari advisers", Ynet reported. The speech was delivered at the Knesset's traditional photo event, held moments after the chamber was sworn in. According to Ynet, Netanyahu opened by calling for a "national unity government" and then devoted the rest of his remarks to attacking the Arab parties and the negotiations between the anti-Netanyahu change bloc and Ra'am.

Bennett was not the only one to shout. Dafna Liel, political correspondent for the Israeli broadcaster N12, reported that Gilad Kariv, a member of the Knesset, called out as the speech ended: "How much money did you get from Qatar?" Kariv added, according to Liel, that Netanyahu had not stopped inciting since the balcony at Zion Square. In a later update, Liel reported that Sara Netanyahu, the prime minister's wife, was also involved in a shouting exchange with Bennett while her husband was speaking.

Different accounts of what Bennett shouted

The reports do not give an identical account of Bennett's interjection. Ynet quoted him asking about Netanyahu's Qatari advisers. Political commentator Amit Segal reported on his Telegram channel that Netanyahu said foreign influence in the elections needed to be investigated, and that Bennett broke in to ask: "What about October 7?" The reports do not say whether these were two separate interjections or how they related to each other.

A Ynet news alert also quoted Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right politician and Netanyahu ally, using the Hebrew slang word "klumnik", which roughly means a nobody or a worthless person. The alert did not specify whom Ben Gvir was addressing.

Who was involved

Bennett is a former prime minister. He led the coalition that briefly removed Netanyahu from office, a government that for the first time included an Arab party, Ra'am. Kariv sits with the centre-left opposition. Ben Gvir leads the far-right Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party and has been a partner in Netanyahu's governments. Sara Netanyahu is not a lawmaker; her reported exchange with Bennett took place in the chamber during the speech.

Why Qatar is a charged word

The references to Qatar point to an affair, often called "Qatargate" in Israeli media, in which people working in or with the prime minister's office have been investigated over alleged ties to the Gulf state. Qatar has hosted Hamas political leaders and has acted as a mediator in talks over hostages held in Gaza, which makes any suggestion of Qatari influence close to the prime minister politically sensitive in Israel. Netanyahu has rejected the allegations. Kariv's question about money was shouted in the chamber; the reports do not cite any evidence offered with it.

Bennett's reported reference to October 7 refers to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, the deadliest day in the country's history. Netanyahu's critics hold his government responsible for the failures that preceded it, and the question of a state inquiry into the attack remains a point of contention. Segal's account places Bennett's interjection directly after Netanyahu called for an investigation into foreign influence, setting one demand for an inquiry against another.

Ra'am and the change bloc

Ra'am, also known as the United Arab List, is an Islamist party drawing support from Arab citizens of Israel. The "change bloc" is the term used in Israel for the parties seeking to form a government without Netanyahu. According to Ynet, the bulk of Netanyahu's speech targeted the Arab parties and the change bloc's talks with Ra'am. Netanyahu and his allies have long argued that a government depending on Arab parties would be illegitimate, a position his opponents describe as incitement against Arab citizens.

The Zion Square reference

Kariv's mention of the balcony at Zion Square refers to a right-wing rally in central Jerusalem before the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Netanyahu, then opposition leader, addressed the crowd from a balcony there while protesters displayed inflammatory images of Rabin. His critics have cited that rally ever since as an example of incitement, a charge Netanyahu disputes.

What the reports do not say

None of the reports says whether Netanyahu responded to the hecklers during or after the speech, or whether the Knesset speaker intervened. It is not stated at whom Ben Gvir directed his remark, what was said in the exchange between Sara Netanyahu and Bennett, or how Bennett and Kariv responded afterwards. The reports also give no detail on the current state of the change bloc's negotiations with Ra'am.