‘You made me a scapegoat!’: Feldstein yells at Urich during joint probe of PM’s aides
Qatargate face-off said to almost develop into brawl; report says police have messages tying 3rd Netanyahu aide to scandal; polls show most Israelis don’t believe PM’s claims about case
A joint interrogation of two senior aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu almost escalated into a physical brawl, Israeli television reported Friday, hours after a court ordered one of them to remain in custody until Monday while releasing the other to house arrest.
In the so-called Qatargate affair, Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein are suspected of multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corruption charges involving lobbyists and businessmen.
After the pair offered contradicting testimony, police decided to place them in a room together. The interaction on Wednesday quickly became heated and almost turned into a physical brawl, according to Channel 12 news.
Citing leaked transcripts, the network said Feldstein blasted Urich for refusing to speak out during a separate case in which the former is accused of having leaked classified intelligence to the German Bild daily to scuttle a potential hostage deal. Feldstein has insisted that he was acting on Urich’s orders on Netanyahu’s behalf.
“You know that you did everything with the prime minister’s permission. Who told me about Bild? Who told me the prime minister was pleased [after the story was published]? Who told me to bring [the matter] to [campaign adviser Yisrael] Einhorn? You already abandoned me then,” Feldstein was quoted as telling Urich, referring to the Serbia-based former aide to Netanyahu and Likud campaign manager who investigators are seeking to question in both the documents and Qatargate cases.
“I will give you evidence that this time [Qatargate], you abandoned me as well. I saw at yesterday’s [remand extension] hearing that all of the prime minister’s aides came — Topaz Luk, Ofer Golan, Guy Levy, David Sharan… When I was in custody, no one came. You don’t care about me. No one in your office cares about me,” Feldstein reportedly continued.
“You’re blaming the entire affair on me. I have nothing. Tell them [the investigators] the truth about the [stolen intel] documents probe,” Feldstein reportedly implored Urich. “Forget about Qatar for a moment. What about the documents probe? I am accused of harming national security when I was going off of your orders. You know that everything I did, I’d ask you about [beforehand].”
Urich was said to have refrained from answering and put his head down.
“Do you want me to pick your head up so you can look me in the eye?” Feldstein said, reportedly getting up out of his chair and moving toward Urich before being blocked by the interrogators.
“Talk to me! I’m being put on trial here. Jonatan, speak up! Open your mouth and tell the truth!” Feldstein yelled.
“Eli, what do you want from me? What do you want from me? I don’t know [Israeli businessman Gil] Birger, I don’t know [Qatari lobbyist Jay] Footlik,” Urich reportedly responded, referring to the two men who were allegedly behind payments to Netanyahu’s aides on behalf of Qatar.
“You know there are messages [between us that show otherwise]. You know everything you deleted. You know it’s all in my possession. And you know everything about this matter. You made me a scapegoat. Where were you when I was arrested? Why didn’t you send anyone to court (to support me)?” Feldstein shot back.
“I’m a Zionist patriot. It’s bad enough what you’ve done to me, but how could you do this to my parents as well? How many millions does my father have to pay because of this trial? You’ve killed my parents!” Feldstein added.
Einhorn’s alleged involvement
Separately, the Kan public broadcaster reported that police are in possession of numerous WhatsApp messages — most of them from Feldstein’s phone — that show Einhorn’s involvement in advancing Qatar’s interests.
Channel 13 news reported that investigators also have WhatsApp messages between Feldstein and Urich that allegedly incriminate the latter and contradict his claim denying he knew Footlik, an American lobbyist for whom Urich and Feldstein are suspected of carrying out work while being employed as aides to Netanyahu.
Polls show PM mistrusted
Also Friday, Channel 12 published a poll in which respondents were asked if they believed Netanyahu’s claims that he knew nothing about his aides’ allegedly illicit contact with Qatar. Fifty-nine percent said they don’t believe the premier, compared to 30% who do. Among coalition voters, 28% of them don’t believe him, while 58% do.
A survey aired by Channel 13 asked if respondents believe Netanyahu’s claim that the Qatargate investigation is political, with 57.7% saying no, 27.3% yes, and the remainder not knowing. A similar percentage — 59.2% — of respondents also said they believe Netanyahu’s efforts to oust Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara are driven by political and personal motives, versus 30.7% who think he’s driven by professional and substantive concerns.
The Times of Israel Community.