Court extends Qatargate suspects’ house arrest by 2 weeks upon seeing new evidence
Judge, shown confidential documents, overrules earlier order to release PM’s aides, who report says presented ‘talking points’ from pro-Qatar lobbyist as if they were Israel’s official stance
The Tel Aviv District Court on Thursday overturned a decision to release Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close aide Jonatan Urich and former spokesman Eli Feldstein from house arrest.
The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court had ordered the two released on Tuesday, despite the state’s request to extend their house arrest by 21 days. The decision was then suspended for 48 hours to allow police the opportunity to appeal the decision.
In appealing the decision, police presented the court with new evidence against the pair, who are key suspects in the so-called Qatargate scandal involving ties between them and Qatar.
The court, upon receiving the evidence, agreed to extend Urich and Feldstein’s remand by two weeks, until May 8.
According to Channel 12, the confidential documents shown to the judge dealt with the means by which money was allegedly transferred to the suspects by Qatari elements.
The police on Tuesday expressed concerns that Urich would try to obstruct the investigation should he be released, but Judge Menachem Mizrahi said at the time that neither Urich nor Feldstein was suspected of having attempted such activity while under house arrest and could therefore be released.
Mizrahi added that the additional investigative activities that the police have requested to carry out do not warrant keeping the two suspects under house arrest.
Judge Amit Michles, of the Tel Aviv District Court, however, said Thursday that he does believe such concerns are warranted — both about possible obstruction and that freeing the suspects could otherwise interfere with the investigation.
Meanwhile, according to Hebrew media reports, police investigators are expected to travel to the US in the coming days to question Jay Footlik, an American pro-Qatar lobbyist suspected of having assisted with the money transfers.
According to the Ynet news site, Urich’s lawyer, Amit Hadad, attributed the decision to extend his client’s house arrest to an American investigation into Footlik.
Also Thursday, the Kan public broadcaster reported on “talking points” ostensibly representing Israel’s stance on Qatar that were sent to Israeli reporters, but were in fact written up by Footlik.
The report said these messages included the statements that Egypt — who like Qatar has been mediating talks between Israel and Hamas — enabled the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack by allowing arms smuggling to Gaza; that Israel requested for Hamas leaders to reside in Qatar; that Israel asked Qatar to transfer funds to Gaza; that Qatar has military importance to Israel; and that Egypt cannot mediate the negotiations between Israel and Hamas, which Qatar instead must mediate.
In response to the report, Urich’s lawyers denied he was familiar with “the talking points” while an attorney for Feldstein said all messages his client relayed were at the instruction of his superiors at the Prime Minister’s Office.
In the so-called Qatargate affair, Urich and Feldstein are suspected of multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corruption charges involving lobbyists and businessmen, while they were working for the prime minister.
Several additional people have been questioned in connection with the scandal, including Netanyahu, who is not a suspect and denies all knowledge of the matter.
Aside from Qatargate, Feldstein was charged in November with harming national security in a separate case involving the theft and leaking of material from a classified IDF document to the German daily Bild in an effort to sway public opinion toward Netanyahu. Urich is also a suspect in that case.
Sam Sokol contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.