Urich and Netanyahu speak on phone after restrictions on Qatargate suspect expire

Key Qatargate suspect Jonatan Urich and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for the first time in a year by telephone this morning, Channel 12 News reports, after restrictions on his activities expired two days ago.

The conversation took place before a hearing in the Central District Court, where Judge Ami Kobo rejected a police appeal of the Rishon Lezion Magistrate Court’s decision not extend the restrictions on Urich, including contacting those connected to the Qatargate, such as Netanyahu.

Kobo rejects the appeal since, as the lower court pointed out, the police requested the extension after the restrictions had already expired, making it technically and legally impossible for the court to “extend” them.

Lawyers for Urich suggested yesterday that he be able to return to work in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Urich, along with former Netanyahu spokesman Eli Feldstein and ex-campaign adviser Yisrael Einhorn, is accused of taking money to spearhead a public relations campaign to cast Qatar in a positive light for over a year after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, despite the Gulf state’s strong ties to the terror group, and doing so while working in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Urich is suspected of contact with a foreign agent, bribery, fraud, breach of trust and money laundering.