Israeli officals helped Qatar funnel cash into Gaza to help keep Hamas in power (Picture: Getty)

The Israeli government spent years quietly supporting Hamas in an attempt to weaken the Palestinian liberation movement, it has been revealed.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a hands-on role in allowing the militant group to remain in power by allowing Qatari officials to transport suitcases of cash into Gaza prior to the deadly October 7 attacks, the New York Times reports.

Every month, a Qatari diplomat would meet Israeli security officials at the Jordan border before being driven into Gaza.

Upon arrival, he would hand over a suitcase containing around $15 million to Hamas officials and distribute $100 bills to a list of Gazan families approved by the Israeli government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a backlash over the covert payments (Picture: AP)

The money was intended to keep the local government running, pay salaries to public servants and teachers and keep the enclave’s hospitals and power plants running.

But there were numerous concerns from officials that Hamas was also using the money to fund their military operations- concerns Netanyahu repeatedly ignored.

The payments were part of a political gamble intended to strengthen Hamas and have them act as a counterbalance to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, weakening both sides and reducing pressure on the Israeli government to create a Palestinian state.

Israel did not believe Hamas was interested or capable of launching an attack on the Jewish state, and even lobbied the US government to stop them from sanctioning Qatar over the payments, the NYT reports.

It was thought the payments would divide Palestinian opposition and weaken calls for a two-state solution (Picture: Getty)

Avigdor Lieberman, a former Israeli defence minister who resigned in November 2018, told the publication that the plan was a ploy by Netenyahu to stay ‘in power at any cost,’ and had directly led to the October 7 attacks.

Shlomo Brom, a former deputy to Israel’s national security adviser, said that after the 2014 war with Hamas, Israel felt it was better off with the militant group in control of Gaza, as opposed to multiple Islamist groups also vying for power.

‘It was our impression that the Israelis were comfortable with keeping Hamas in power in a weakened form,’ the official told the NYT. 

‘Our understanding was that Hamas was the lesser of a whole bunch of bad options in Gaza,’ he added.

Qatari officals have vowed to continue the payments (Picture: EPA)

Netanyahu has found himself under increasing criticism as the scale of his government’s cooperation with Hamas has come to light, with many Israelis holding the PM partly responsible for the October 7 attacks on Israel.

‘The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of (Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud) Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from,’ wrote journalist Tal Schneider in the Times of Israel on October 8, a day after the deadly attacks.

Qatar meanwhile has vowed to continue the payments for the foreseeable future. The gulf state maintains ties with both Hamas and the West and played a key role in negotiating the release of Israeli hostages taken captive during the attacks.

‘We’re not going to change our mandate. Our mandate is our continuous help and support for our brothers and sisters of Palestine. We will continue to do it systematically as we did it before,’ a Qatari official told CNN on Monday.

Israel has responded to the October 7 attacks with a massive ground and bombing campaign in Gaza, killing around 17,000 people and reducing much of the enclave to rubble.

Netanyahu responded to claims he helped fund Hamas as ‘ridiculous’ and has vowed to crush the militant group.

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Israel allowed Qatari diplomants to send suitcases of cash to Hamas officials in Gaza every month.