‘Qatargate’: Urich rearrested, new correspondences shed light on payments
Two weeks ago, a district court overturned a Magistrate's Court decision on Urich's house arrest, remanding him to it, as suspicions against him grew stronger.
By SARAH BEN-NUN, JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: MAY 8, 2025 13:29 Yonatan Urich, adviser of Leader of the Opposition and head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu seen before a press conference of Leader of the Opposition and head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on October 3, 2022.(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)
Shortly before he was set for release from house arrest, Yonatan Urich, former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was apprehended once more by police, reports noted on Thursday.
A security official was arrested as well, allegedly tied to the Mossad. Urich was held for suspected tampering with the investigation and endangering national security.
Urich is a suspect in the “Qatargate” case, in which police are investigating alleged connections between the Prime Minister’s Office and the State of Qatar.
Late Wednesday night, Urich and Eli Feldstein were brought in for questioning on the case, from their house arrest. Interrogators presented Urich with a new series of correspondences, including with Feldstein. Police acquired new information that sheds light on the money trail and the massive pay that Urich got.
Two weeks ago, the Lod District Court overturned a Magistrate's Court decision on Urich's house arrest, remanding him to it, as suspicions against him grew stronger.
(L to R): Eli Feldstein and Yonatan Urich (illustration). (credit: Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90/Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90/Yonathan Sindel/Flash90)
Feldstein's arrest in 'leaked documents affair'
Feldstein was arrested in February. While working as a military spokesman at the Prime Minister's Office, Feldstein was simultaneously employed by an international company funded by Qatar.
During the investigation, interrogators presented Urich with text messages related to Qatargate and also to the “leaked documents” case, regarding Feldstein's alleged leak of classified military documents to the German daily Bild, after the documents failed publication by the Israeli military censor.
The documents were publicized, allegedly in an effort to sway public opinion on the hostage negotiations.
Police on Thursday morning requested to extend Urich's detainment for another five days, and Feldstein's for another 30.
Allegedly, Urich and another Netanyahu aide, Israel Einhorn, fed Israeli journalists information cited as from intelligence sources when it really originated in Qatar.
Supposedly, the goal was to boost Qatar's image in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire negotiations, while belittling that of Egypt's the other mediator. Qatar has denied any such initiative.
