PM said to have dispatched aide to Doha amid lack of trust in Mossad-led negotiating team
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly dispatched his foreign policy aide Ophir Falk to join Mossad chief David Barnea for negotiations with Qatari mediators in Doha earlier today.
Falk was dispatched even though he is not part of the negotiating team, while Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and IDF hostage point man Nitzan Alon — who are part of that squad – stayed home.
Falk was sent to “supervise” Barnea in light of Netanyahu’s growing distrust of the hostage negotiating team, a senior Israeli official told the Walla news site.
Members of the negotiating team have periodically been speaking with the Israeli media on condition of anonymity, accusing Netanyahu of hampering the talks in order to ensure he stays in power.
Netanyahu’s inner circle has blamed the Israeli security establishment — whose representatives head the hostage negotiating team — for failing to thwart Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
Netanyahu agreed to dispatch Barnea to Qatar during a meeting with the Mossad chief and Bar last night. IDF chief Herzi Halevi and Alon were not invited to that meeting, according to Hebrew media reports.
Netanyahu also barred Barnea and Bar from participating in a separate meeting yesterday regarding the hostage talks with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Gallant reportedly criticized Netanyahu for barring Barnea and Bar from the meeting, saying it hampered the security establishment’s ability to prepare for the talks in Doha.
