Two aides of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were arrested on Monday morning for allegedly receiving payment from Qatari officials in order to promote the country’s image, and Netanyahu himself gave open testimony later on Monday, marking a significant development in the case known as “Qatargate.”
The investigation is under gag order until April 10, but numerous Israeli media outlets reported that the two suspects were Eli Feldstein and Yonatan Urich, former and current members, respectively, of Netanyahu’s media team.
The prime minister was in the midst of testifying in his criminal trial when he was summoned for questioning. The testimony was suspended. Netanyahu’s leading defense lawyer, Amit Hadad, left the courtroom earlier, as he is Urich’s lawyer as well.
The allegations against Urich and Feldstein include bribery, contact with a foreign agent, breach of trust, money laundering, and tax offenses, Maariv reported.
A journalist whose identity is under gag order was also summoned for open testimony, but the testimony turned into an investigation for suspected illegal activity, according to numerous reports. The reports could not be independently corroborated.
Urich and Feldstein were already detained and questioned 12 days ago, but not arrested. Urich was arrested at his home for the first time, and Feldstein was brought in from house arrest. The house arrest came after Feldstein was indicted for leaking a highly classified document to a German newspaper in September, in order to lower public pressure on Netanyahu following the murder of six hostages in Hamas captivity in late August. Srulik Einhorn, another former member of Netanyahu’s media team, allegedly facilitated the connection between Feldstein and the newspaper.
What is Qatargate?
Walla reported on Sunday that meetings between Qatari lobbyists and senior Israeli officials had been arranged by Ariel Shafir, a former employee of Srulik Einhorn’s PR firm Perception, and close associate of Urich.
According to Walla, lobbyists Jay Footlik and Gil Birger, who represent Qatar's interests in Israel, have been meeting with high-ranking Israeli officials through Shafir's arrangements. Several months ago, there was even an attempt to secure a meeting between the lobbyists and a senior government minister.
Footlik and Birger gained public attention earlier in March following a recording published by KAN news, in which Birger admitted to paying Feldstein on behalf of Footlik.
According to Walla, Shafir's name was recently removed from Perception's website, though it remains visible in internet archives. He reportedly has close ties to the Likud party. He serves as an advisor to the Bitchonistim (Security Experts), a group of former senior IDF officers who support positions aligned with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shafir is also involved with the civilian public relations team.
According to Walla, these revelations raise questions about Urich's previous claims. Just two weeks ago, Hadad stated that "Urich has no idea who Gil Birger is—he has never spoken with him or met him." Given Shafir's close relationship with Urich and their professional connection, this denial has come under scrutiny.
In February, Channel 13’s Raviv Drucker reported that Feldstein on behalf of the Qataris had facilitated a trip to Qatar for Jerusalem Post Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein, and set up interviews for Klein on central news channels following the trip. Klein wrote on X that the trip had been offered by Qatari authorities and that he had had no prior contact with Feldstein. Feldstein first contacted him in order to set up television interviews on Channels 12 and 13 following the trip, Klein said.
Netanyahu said in a video statement on Monday evening that after he was asked to give testimony, he cleared his schedule in order to “not to wait even a moment.” Police investigators had requested four hours for the investigation, but had “run out of questions” after an hour, he said.
“The investigators took a one-and-a-half-hour break and came back for ten minutes. I said to them – give me materials, show me something, and they had nothing to show, and I was astounded,” Netanyahu said.
He called the investigation “political” and called Urich and Feldstein “hostages” whose lives were being “ruined” over nothing. The investigation was a “political witch hunt” intended to prevent the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and topple a “prime minister from the Right,” Netanyahu said.