Israel Police extended on Tuesday the detentions of Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, two aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, until Thursday. Judge Menahem Mizrahi wrote in the court decision on the matter that releasing them from holding, at this point, could tamper with the investigation.
The two are central to what has become known as the “Qatargate” case, which examines alleged ties between employees of the Prime Minister’s Office and Qatar.
A gag order was placed on the case two months ago by the court, and was removed on Tuesday after a request by Urich’s legal team. Urich is being represented by Amit Hadad, who is also representing Netanyahu in his criminal trial. The team said the move was made to “expose the absurd” in the suspicions against him.
About two weeks ago, Gil Birger, an Israeli businessman who works in the Gulf states area, admitted that he transferred funds from a Qatari lobbyist to Feldstein. The recordings were published at the time by KAN Reshet Bet.
The lobbyist, Jay Footlik, requested that Birger assist in transferring the funds to Feldstein for VAT purposes, per the recordings, which confirmed an earlier report by Channel 13.
'The third circle'
The court detailed in its decision the existence of an American company called “The Third Circle,” which is allegedly owned by Footlik. Among other goals, the company pushes the Qatari agenda in several states, including Israel, reads the decision.
To accomplish this, the company contacted one of the two suspects in order to “cast Qatar in a positive light” regarding the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal – of which Qatar is one of the main mediators – and cast Egypt, the other mediator, in a negative light, so as to boost Qatar’s public image.
One of the two suspects, and another that wasn’t named, allegedly made the connections to Footlik’s company – in exchange for financial payments made to the third suspect. This was all allegedly carried out by Birger.
Allegedly, the three suspects worked to influence public discourse regarding Qatar – through the media and through messages delivered to journalists and carried out from there to the media. These messages were gracious in nature toward Qatar and belittling toward Egypt, according to the court.
The prosecution requested that the arrest of the two be extended for nine days, but Mizrahi wrote that it was excessive.
Mizrahi further decried the failure of authorities to enforce the gag order, an act he said harmed the investigation.
Urich and Feldstein were apprehended on Monday and brought to the Lahav 433 – National Crime Unit headquarters for investigations. The suspected charges against them are contact with a foreign agent, bribery, and breach of trust.
On Monday, Netanyahu’s testimony in his criminal trial hearings was cut short. It was later reported that he arrived at Lahav 433 to testify on Qatargate.
According to KAN, he told investigators that he did not know about the connection between Urich and Feldstein and the Qataris.
Agriculture and Raw Food Security Minister Avi Dichter (Likud) stated that Qatargate is “alarming and concerning” and that the “prime minister’s staff should not be dealing with Qatar, or have interactions with Qatar,” during an interview with KAN Reshet Bet on Tuesday.
Dichter added that those who are involved in Qatari-facilitated negotiations to return Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas and other terrorist groups are an exception to this advice.
While “Qatar is not defined as an enemy state, it is not friendly,” Dichter added.
When discussing those involved in Qatargate, Dichter commented that “it’s hard to know what their intentions were; whether it was an intelligence operation or a commercial one.”
Dichter also addressed recent statements by Netanyahu criticizing the Qatargate investigations and accusations.
Dichter denounced the accusation that Qatargate is politically motivated, stating, “I am not familiar with any situation where the police do anything other than professional work, and I am also not familiar with a situation where Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency] does politicized work.”
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.