Netanyahu, Lapid spar over claim Qatar lobbyist set up meeting for opposition heads

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid on Monday sparred over social media after the premier shared a report by a pro-government news outlet that the Yesh Atid chair held a meeting with Qatari officials organized by US lobbyist Jay Footlik — a suspect in the so-called Qatargate scandal.

Netanyahu’s critics have rebuked him over the affair, in which the prime minister’s aides are accused of lobbying on behalf of Qatar while in his employ. Sunday’s report by Channel 14, which is seen as close to the prime minister, was shared by Netanyahu, who accused his opponents of hypocrisy since they supposedly shared his aides’ connection with Doha.

According to the report, Lapid, as well as opposition Blue and White party chairman Benny Gantz, held a meeting with representatives of Qatar, alongside the families of hostages in Gaza, in January 2025.

The meeting was mediated by Footlik, a paid advocate for Qatar, who is thought to have funneled money to Netanyahu spokesperson Jonatan Urich to do work for Doha. Footlik is also suspected of paying money to Eli Feldstein, formerly Netanyahu’s military affairs spokesman, via an Israeli businessman based in the Gulf.

Both Lapid and Gantz’s Blue and White party denied the two held a meeting coordinated by Footlik.

In his original post sharing the report, Netanyahu mentioned both Lapid and Gantz’s involvement in the reported meeting, but soon after deleted it to upload an almost identical post mentioning only the Yesh Atid chair, sparking a back-and-forth between the two.

“In January 2025, Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid met with hostage families and Qatari representatives. Who helped them to coordinate this meeting is none other than Footlik, known to us through the Qatarfake scandal,” Netanyahu’s original post on X read.

“So the charge is that Footlik, who arranged the meeting for Gantz, Lapid, and the hostage families, is supposedly a ‘foreign agent,’ someone forbidden to meet with or work with because it would be ‘espionage and treason?’ What hypocrisy. The left is accusing Jonatan Urich of treason because of his ties to Footlik when its leaders had ties to the same person. The hypocrisy screams to the heavens,” Netanyahu wrote.

It is unclear why Netanyahu then deleted his mention of Gantz. The Blue and White head, who has joined Netanyahu-led coalitions several times, recently reiterated his openness to sitting with the current premier, saying it is the only way to keep the far right out of government and not have the government depend on the support of Arab parties for a majority.

After deleting the post, Lapid shared a screenshot of the original while asking, “Mr. Netanyahu, why did you delete this tweet?”

“Mr. Lapid, charge your telephone. The tweet is on air,” Netanyahu replied, after he had reuploaded the altered post.

“I charged my phone, and I still didn’t find your explanation as to why your aides received money from a country that supported terror during a war,” Lapid replied.

The Qatargate allegations are particularly explosive because Hamas’s leadership is based in Qatar, which, alongside Egypt, has acted as a mediator in negotiations over the Gaza war and the current ceasefire.

Netanyahu has claimed the various suspicions against several of his staffers were the result of unnamed opponents “hunting” him to remove him from office. The prime minister is not a suspect in the scandal.

The Qatargate affair revolves primarily around allegations that Urich and Feldstein worked for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm while simultaneously working for the prime minister. They are suspected of committing multiple offenses tied to the alleged dual employment, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen.

Opposition leaders have denounced the prime minister over the scandal, with ex-premier Naftali Bennett, considered Netanyahu’s most significant challenger in the election later this year, saying those involved deserve life in prison for having served an “enemy” in wartime. At least four ministers in the government have also condemned those involved.