Former Israeli ambassador to US: 'Qatar flirted with the worst of our enemies, I'm concerned about the security implications'

Israel's former ambassador to the United States, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Michael Herzog was interviewed on Friday Kan Reshet Bet's program, "This Morning," and expressed concern over the suspicions within the framework of the Qatargate affair.

"This affair greatly concerns me," Herzog shared. "Interference by a country like Qatar in the core of the security establishment and in the center of decision-making in Israel – it's very troubling. I hope the investigation gets to the root of the truth. This is something that should trouble every citizen in Israel."

Despite the concern, Herzog was not surprised by the suspicions and explained that this is Qatar’s method of operation in the world: "This is a well-known modus operandi, also in the United States. They use their vast wealth to buy influence. They play with the good and with the bad – they have also flirted with the worst of our enemies. They even managed to establish a stable status for themselves in the U.S., on both sides of the political aisle. The behavioral pattern does not surprise me."

"As an Israeli citizen, I am concerned about the implications for our security," he added. "If Qatar is operating people at the center of Israeli decision-making, in order to influence policy or to generate messages that align with its interests, that harms our interest."

When Herzog was asked whether during his tenure as ambassador, in wartime, he was negatively surprised by messages that came out of Israel, he said: "There were cases where, due to reasons I didn’t know or related to Israel’s internal system, such messages were released by a 'political source.' Even today, from time to time, such messages are issued – let each person judge for themselves."

At the beginning of the interview, Herzog also referred to the issue of normalization with Saudi Arabia, which seems to be drifting further away by the day. "Since Israel plans to expand its operations in Gaza, normalization is becoming more distant. There was an opportunity in the past, including several months ago. It was missed due to more than one factor."

"I think it’s right that Israel should set this as a very high objective," Herzog said. "I don’t think Netanyahu doesn’t want normalization, but he’s not willing to pay the price for it. In my view, that’s a missed opportunity."