Three journalists, Shirit Avitan Cohen from Israel Hayom, Nir Dvori from Channel 12, and Suleiman Maswadeh from KAN television, gave open testimonies to Israel Police on Thursday, relating to the “Qatargate” case.
Presumably, the interrogation examined the sourcing and verifiability of certain news items that the journalists brought forth.
Maswadeh posted to X/Twitter later in the evening that his testimony finished. “As a citizen and a journalist in Israel, I am required to act in accordance with the law, to protect the identity of my sources, and to bring the truth to the screen,” he wrote.
Media reports later on Thursday afternoon said that another business had also been brought in for interrogation.
Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara stated on Thursday, “The investigation into suspicions that advisers to the Prime Minister promoted Qatari interests requires open testimony from journalists. Without obtaining such testimony, it would not be possible to clarify the relevant facts.”
She confirmed that the three who were summoned for testimony are not suspects and are not being asked about their sources.
Baharav-Miara, however, stressed that law enforcement authorities place the utmost importance on safeguarding freedom of the press, and therefore, the policy is to minimize, as much as possible, situations in which testimonies are taken from journalists.
Zvika Klein
Speaking on the questioning and house arrest of The Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief, Zvika Klein, the A-G said he was originally questioned under caution and not as a suspect, however, during the course of the testimony, “significant suspicion arose that the journalist, along with the prime minister’s advisers, was part of a mechanism for receiving benefits from Qatar in exchange for promoting its interests.”
This came a day after two suspects in the case – Eli Feldstein and Jonathan Urich – provided contradictory testimonies, with Feldstein claiming that he received money from businessman Gil Birger for his work in the Prime Minister’s Office and Urich stating he does not know Birger and has never spoken with him.
Birger claimed that he transferred the funds on behalf of Jay Footlik, a lobbyist for Qatar, citing tax considerations as the motive.
Feldstein admitted to receiving the money but asserted he was unaware that its source was tied to Qatar.
Klein was questioned by police as part of the investigation. Last year, he visited Qatar at the direct invitation of the Gulf state’s government and wrote a series of articles for the Post on his meetings with officials following his return.
Klein’s house arrest has been condemned by National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz, who said investigating or arresting a journalist is an “extremely exceptional event in a democracy” that should only happen when there is “clear and solid criminal suspicion.”
He called on the A-G and the state prosecutor to “thoroughly examine the necessity of the house arrest of the Post’s editor,” saying, “The potential harm to freedom of the press, which is a fundamental value in democracy, must be taken into account in decision-making.”
On Thursday evening, Qatar denied and condemned the claim that it paid to have its image boosted and that of Egypt’s belittled as one of the main mediators in the Israel-Hamas hostage and ceasefire deal.
Qatar stated: “These allegations are baseless and serve only the agendas of those who seek to sabotage the mediation efforts and undermine relations between nations. They also represent a new development in the ongoing misinformation campaign that is attempting to divert attention away from the humanitarian suffering and perpetuate the politicization of the war.”
It warned “against these individuals becoming embroiled in matters that serve no purpose other than to derail mediation efforts and exacerbate the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Alongside the Americans, until recently, Qatar and Egypt were the chief states with direct contact to Hamas and remain pivotal communicators to the terrorist group.
Qatar added in its statement that it “commends Egypt’s pivotal role in this critical matter as both sides engage in daily cooperation and coordination to ensure the success of joint mediation efforts aimed at achieving regional stability.”
Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.