Judge bans Qatargate suspect Urich from Prime Minister’s Office, overturning lower court

The Lod-Central District Court rules to ban Qatargate suspect Jonatan Urich from working in the Prime Minister’s Office or contacting others involved in the affair, overturning the Rishon Lezion Magistrate Court’s decision earlier this month.

The court also bans Urich from leaving the country for the next 60 days.

The magistrate’s court ruled on September 11 that banning Urich from working in the PMO, as requested by the police, would harm his constitutional rights, and that insufficient evidence had been presented to him regarding the threat to national security posed by Urich that would justify such injury to his rights.

Judge Amit Michles of the Lod-Central District Court writes in his decision, however, that Urich maintains he has not violated any law by doing public relations work for Qatar to improve Doha’s image as a fair mediator in hostage negotiations while at the same time working as an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Since Urich claims he has done nothing wrong, the likelihood of his repeating such conduct if he returns to the PMO increases, Michles writes, “when [such actions] could cause great harm, whether to state security or otherwise.” Urich is facing possible charges of bribery and breach of trust in the case.

The judge also writes that the harm to Urich’s constitutional rights is limited, since he has already been prohibited in practice from working in the PMO due to restrictions that were previously imposed, banning him from having contact with anyone involved in the Qatargate affair, which includes several figures in the Prime Minister’s Office.

This is the fifth time Michles has overturned a decision by the Rishon Lezion Magistrate Court regarding the Qatargate affair.