By: Fern Sidman

As diplomatic tensions simmer between Jerusalem and Washington over the emerging postwar order in Gaza and the future course of action against Iran, a name once associated with optimism and pragmatism has begun to draw increasingly sharp scrutiny in Israeli political circles: Steve Witkoff.

An exclusive report at i24News revealed on Saturday that senior Israeli officials are voicing growing unease about the influence wielded by the U.S. special envoy, arguing that his decisions on critical Middle East matters are increasingly perceived as misaligned with Israel’s strategic priorities. According to the i24News account, these concerns have crystallized around two central issues: the proposed inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in the newly formed Board of Peace for Gaza, and the apparent hesitation within the Trump administration to authorize military action against Iran.

“For several months now, the feeling has been that envoy Steve Witkoff has strong ties, for his own reasons, across the Middle East, and that at times the Israeli interest does not truly prevail in his decision-making,” sources close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told i24News. The phrasing was careful, but the implication unmistakable: Israel’s political echelon is beginning to suspect that the envoy’s personal and professional entanglements in the region may be shaping American policy in ways that complicate Jerusalem’s security agenda.

Witkoff, a billionaire real estate developer and longtime confidant of President Donald Trump, was appointed as special envoy with the expectation that his business acumen and transactional style would translate into effective diplomacy. Yet, as the exclusive report at i24News emphasized, his portfolio of relationships in the Gulf—particularly in Qatar—has raised eyebrows in Israel, where Doha is widely regarded as a primary financier of Hamas and a habitual spoiler of Israeli interests.

Over the past decade, Witkoff has cultivated extensive commercial ventures in the Middle East, ranging from luxury real estate developments to high-end hospitality projects. Industry sources have long noted his close associations with Qatari investment funds and business elites. These ties, Israeli officials now suggest, may be coloring his approach to regional decision-making.

The Board of Peace for Gaza, recently unveiled by the White House as a comprehensive governing mechanism for the reconstruction and stabilization of the Strip, has emerged as a focal point of this friction. The body is intended to oversee security, infrastructure rebuilding, investment flows, and political coordination in postwar Gaza. However, its proposed membership includes representatives from Turkey and Qatar—two states that have enabled Iranian-backed terrorist networks such as Hamas and have undermined Israeli deterrence.

The exclusive report at i24News highlighted that the inclusion of these actors was met with immediate dismay in Jerusalem. Israeli diplomats had hoped the board would be structured around partners such as the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt—countries with whom Israel maintains constructive strategic relations. Instead, they now find themselves confronting a framework that appears to elevate some of their most persistent regional antagonists.

“This is not merely a bureaucratic disagreement,” a senior Israeli official told i24News. “Allowing Turkey and Qatar to shape Gaza’s future is like asking the foxes to guard the henhouse.”

The criticism extends beyond Gaza policy. The same exclusive report at i24News noted that Israeli officials are increasingly troubled by what they perceive as Witkoff’s role in discouraging a decisive American response to Iran’s escalating regional aggression. As Tehran continues to enrich uranium, arm proxy militias, and destabilize the broader Middle East, Jerusalem has repeatedly urged Washington to consider robust military options.

Yet, according to Israeli sources cited by i24News, Witkoff has been among those advocating caution and restraint. One senior figure was quoted as saying bluntly: “If it turns out that he is among those blocking a strike on Iran, that is far more than a coincidence.”

Such comments reflect a broader anxiety within Israel’s defense establishment that the window for neutralizing Iran’s nuclear ambitions may be narrowing—and that the United States, under the influence of competing economic and diplomatic considerations, is drifting toward an accommodationist posture.

To understand the depth of Israeli concern, one must appreciate the centrality of Iran to the nation’s security calculus. From Hezbollah in Lebanon to militias in Syria and Iraq, Tehran’s network of proxies represents an existential threat in Israeli eyes. Any perception that an American envoy is soft-pedaling that danger inevitably triggers alarm.

Witkoff’s defenders, both in Washington and in the private sector, counter that his relationships in Qatar and the wider Gulf are precisely what make him valuable. They argue that effective diplomacy requires engaging all stakeholders, including those with whom Israel has fraught relations. In their view, excluding Qatar and Turkey from the Gaza process would doom any reconstruction effort to failure before it even begins.

Nevertheless, the exclusive report at i24News underscores that Israeli officials are not persuaded. From their perspective, the envoy’s business interests risk creating conflicts—real or perceived—that undermine the credibility of U.S. mediation.

Qatar, in particular, occupies a unique and controversial position. While hosting American military facilities and presenting itself as a neutral interlocutor, Doha has also funneled billions of dollars into Gaza over the years, funds that Israel contends were diverted to Hamas’s military apparatus. Witkoff’s professional rapport with Qatari decision-makers, Israeli sources fear, could tilt U.S. policy toward accommodating Qatari preferences at Israel’s expense.

These misgivings come at a sensitive moment in U.S.-Israeli relations. The two allies remain closely aligned on many fronts, yet the Gaza war and Iran’s aggressive posture have introduced new strains. As the exclusive report at i24News made clear, Jerusalem is keenly aware that personnel choices in Washington can have profound strategic consequences.

Publicly, Netanyahu’s government has avoided direct confrontation with the White House, mindful of Trump’s longstanding support for Israel. Privately, however, the criticism is mounting. Some Israeli commentators have begun to suggest that a recalibration of the envoy’s mandate—or even his replacement—may be necessary to restore confidence.

For now, Witkoff remains firmly in his post, and administration officials insist that the Board of Peace for Gaza will proceed as planned. But the discord revealed in the exclusive report at i24News signals that the road ahead is likely to be fraught.

Whether these tensions can be smoothed over will depend on the coming months: on how the Gaza reconstruction framework evolves, on whether Iran faces meaningful deterrence, and on whether Israeli leaders come to believe that America’s top envoy is acting as an impartial strategist—or as a businessman with one eye on the balance sheet.

In the volatile arena of Middle Eastern diplomacy, perception is often as potent as policy. And at present, at least in Jerusalem, the perception of Steve Witkoff is growing increasingly complicated.