Police seeking 21-day house arrest for Netanyahu aide Urich and second Qatargate suspect

Police are requesting of the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court that Jonatan Urich, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a key suspect in the so-called Qatargate affair, be released from detention and instead be held under house arrest for three weeks.

The police are also requesting the same period of house arrest for a former Mossad official who is also a suspect in the case but whose name is under gag order.

Urich was rearrested last week after police sought to question him regarding what they said was new evidence surrounding his role in the alleged scandal, which is tied to work he performed on behalf of Doha while advising Netanyahu, but the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court ordered him released, saying there was no reason for his ongoing detention.

The Lod District Court upheld an appeal by the police to keep him in custody, saying that the new evidence heightened suspicions against him, and the Supreme Court upheld that decision after Urich appealed.

The Supreme Court told the police, however, that further requests for Urich to remain in custody should focus on obstruction of justice concerns rather than claims about the supposed danger he poses to state security.

Urich is suspected of multiple offenses tied to his alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and breach of trust, due to what prosecutors believe was his work to polish Qatar’s image as hostage negotiation mediators while also working as an adviser to Netanyahu.