Qatar said to have paid senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu aides, total of $10 million over 2 years

Qatar paid senior Israeli officials, including several top advisers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a total of some $10 million in recent years to boost the image of the Gulf nation, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Citing estimates by law enforcement officials involved in the Qatargate probe, the report says that Perception Media — owned by Yisrael Einhorn, a former campaign adviser to Netanyahu — was paid $45,000 per month over two years, from 2022 until the project was scrapped in late 2024.

Some $18,000 per month out of the payment to Perception went to Netanyahu aide Jonatan Urich, the report says.

Separately from the payments to Perception, $11,000 per month went to another Netanyahu aide, Eli Feldstein.

The Qatargate affair revolves primarily around suspicions that two Netanyahu aides — Urich and Feldstein — committed multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen, all while working for the prime minister.

The investigation continues to expand, however, and the Shin Bet and police are now probing the involvement and business connections of former security officials with Qatar.