Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Screenshot from video posted on Netanyahu's X account, Sept. 18, 2025.)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Qatar may have "funded rumors" linking Israel to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the far-right American activist and influencer close to President Donald Trump. Kirk was killed on Sept. 10 by a gunshot to the neck while debating students at Utah Valley University campus.
Netanyahu's accusations come more than a week after unprecedented Israeli airstrikes on Doha, Qatar, targeting the Hamas leadership. In a two-minute video posted on his X account, Netanyahu rejected the "monstrous lie" that Israel had "anything to do with the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk."
When Netanyahu quotes Goebbels
"It's insane. It's false. It's outrageous," the Israeli prime minister declared in the recording. Opening his remarks with a quote attributed to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, that "the bigger the lie, the faster it spreads," Benjamin Netanyahu went on to assert, though without providing evidence, that the rumors linking Israel to the assassination of Charlie Kirk may have been funded by Qatar. "Today, some are spreading these disgusting rumors. Maybe out of obsession. Maybe with Qatari funding," he said.
Concluding his video by paying tribute to the far-right influencer, "a uniquely talented individual" who "defended our shared Judeo-Christian civilization" and who "loved Israel and the Jewish people," Benjamin Netanyahu also called Charlie Kirk a "great man" who "deserves honor, not lies."
Amidst ongoing bombardment of Gaza and Lebanon, Israel also carried out unprecedented strikes on Sept. 9 against Doha, targeting political leaders of Hamas residing in the Qatari capital. In response, an extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit was held in Qatar on Sept. 15, condemning the Israeli attack and calling on all Arab countries to "review" their diplomatic ties with Israel. The next day, Netanyahu declared at a press conference that Qatar "is linked to Hamas, hosts Hamas, finances Hamas," stating that the Israeli attack on Doha "was fully justified."
