Naftali Bennett Warns AI Will Surpass Nuclear Weapons in Future Security Importance

At a security and foreign policy conference held by the Yachdav party on August 19, 2026, Naftali Bennett, former Prime Minister and Defense Minister of Israel, outlined his security vision and criticized Qatar sharply. Bennett identified four flawed security concepts and proposed corrections, emphasizing that artificial intelligence capabilities will soon be more critical than nuclear weapons. He described AI as the next arms race among global powers and vowed that Israel would not fall behind despite current government delays.

Bennett labeled Qatar as an enemy state, accusing it of funding the October 7 massacre and actively working to destroy Israel. He stated, "Qatar is not a complex state but a simple enemy state. Anyone who fails to recognize this after October 7 is unfit to lead Israel." Regarding Hezbollah, Bennett declared that any attack by Hezbollah on Israel would trigger Israeli strikes on Iran, targeting Iranian "octopus arms" within Israel’s borders, with retaliatory actions inside Iran itself.

He challenged the prevailing notion that Iran only responds to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, proposing instead that any Hezbollah fire would prompt Israeli attacks on Iran. Bennett also called for removing Turkey and Qatar from Gaza’s border area, replacing them with Egypt while maintaining operational freedom in Gaza. On the issue of illegal weapons, he highlighted the alarming presence of approximately 500,000 illegal firearms inside Israel, criticizing the government for treating this as a criminal rather than a security issue. He advocated for military and Shin Bet intervention, declaring areas with illegal weapons as closed military zones until cleared.

Bennett’s speech underscored a shift toward a more aggressive and technologically focused Israeli security doctrine, emphasizing AI’s strategic importance and a tougher stance on regional adversaries and internal threats.