Netanyahu says Qatar not an enemy state, denies aide has access to classified intel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday accused the opposition of hypocrisy for their denunciation of his aides’ alleged paid PR work for Qatar, which is widely condemned in Israel for its sponsorship of the Hamas terror group.

As police continued to question the premier’s aides in the so-called Qatarqate probe, Netanyahu also stressed that the Gulf emirate is not listed as an enemy state.

“Qatar is a complex country, not a simple country,” said Netanyahu in a video statement, a day after releasing a video in which he accused the police of holding his aides “hostage.”

“It’s not an enemy country, and many praise it,” the premier continued.

Two aides to Netanyahu, Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, are suspected of taking money to spread pro-Qatari messaging to reporters, in order to boost the Gulf state’s image as a mediator in hostage talks between Israel and Hamas, all while in the prime minister’s employ. Police suspect the two of having contact with a foreign agent, money laundering, bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Qatar is not designated as an enemy state by Israel, and has been a key mediator, along with Egypt and the US, in hostage-ceasefire negotiations. It also sent vast amounts of money, including hundreds of millions of dollars in cash delivered with the support of Netanyahu, into Gaza in recent years — funds that IDF and Shin Bet probes have said helped finance Hamas’s war machine and the terror group’s October 7, 2023 invasion and slaughter in southern Israel.

Netanyahu has stated publicly in the past that Qatar funds Hamas, and decried its hosting of Hamas leaders. Israel also banned the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera news outlet last year as a threat to national security.

“Jonatan [Urich] is a dedicated employee,” Netanyahu said, referring to his longtime senior aide. “He’s my political adviser in the Likud. He doesn’t have access to any classified intelligence material, but they say he praised Qatar.”

“Do you know who really praised Qatar?” Netanyahu asked.

He pointed at Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who praised Doha for its role in hostage talks after meeting a “senior Qatari official” in Paris in January.

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz also praised Qatar many times, according to Netanyahu, who said Gantz flew to Qatar to try to sell spy software for the company Fifth Dimension.

Trading accusations with the Shin Bet

The prime minister said that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, whom Netanyahu is working to fire, visited Qatar many times as part of hostage negotiations, and praised them. He also claimed that Bar was a guest of Qatar during the 2022 World Cup.

The Shin Bet rejected the claim. In a statement, the security agency clarified that Bar’s presence in stadiums where the games were held was part of strictly professional security preparations to ensure the safety of Israelis attending the World Cup and that his trip was approved in advance.

“This was not a case of watching a game, but rather a tour and series of work meetings, some of which were held in the stadium during the World Cup matches,” the statement read.

Ahead of the event, an international command center was established by Israeli security agencies, requiring the heads of the Mossad, the Shin Bet, and IDF Intelligence to conduct a work trip to monitor the operations of their agencies and the protection of Israelis in the arena, said the Shin Bet.

Certain professional meetings with relevant experts and officials were held, “at the request of the hosts,” within the stadium where the games were held, the statement added.

In his video statement, Netanyahu also claimed that Urich was being investigated in order to force him to come up with damaging testimony against the prime minister.

“You know why they’re doing this,” Netanyahu said. “First of all, to prevent the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, whom the government unanimously decided to fire.”

“And, as always, to bring down a right-wing government,” he went on.

“We see you. You’re not fooling anyone.”

Private group chat

Meanwhile, Channel 12 news reported that two other Netanyahu aides were part of a private WhatsApp group with a US-based lobbyist who worked for the Qatari government, and they used the forum to discuss work to boost the Gulf state’s image.

According to the network, the group chat included lobbyist Jay Footlik, alongside Netanyahu spokesman Eli Feldstein and campaign adviser Yisrael Einhorn, whose PR firm partner is Urich.

Its existence would appear to contradict Feldstein’s claim that his only connection to foreign agents for Qatar was payment for his work in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The revelation also called into question claims that Footlik did not know that Feldstein, Urich, and Einhorn worked for the Prime Minister’s Office, when the three of them — of all possible PR agents — were chosen for this job to boost Qatar’s image.

Last November, it was reported that Urich and Einhorn did public relations work for Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup as part of the latter’s PR firm Perception, corresponding to the start date of the probe’s time frame.

Police have been seeking to question Einhorn, who now resides in Serbia as an adviser to the country’s President Aleksandar Vučić, as part of the investigation but have struggled due to his living abroad.

Cops question businessman, journalist under caution

Police on Wednesday interrogated both Feldstein and Urich — the two main suspects in the case, as of now —  as well as businessman Gil Birger and Jerusalem Post editor Zvika Klein.

Channel 12 reported that Urich and Feldstein were first interrogated separately, but were then questioned together after police realized their testimonies contradicted each other.

The pair remained in custody overnight, with police to seek an extension of their remand during a hearing Thursday morning at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court.

Also questioned under caution Wednesday was businessman Birger, who was heard in recordings aired last month explaining how he transferred money from Footlik to Feldstein.

In the recordings, Birger said he was approached by Footlik to facilitate the transfers, for tax reasons. After the recordings aired, Feldstein insisted that the funds were actually for his work for the Prime Minister’s Office.

Channel 12 said Wednesday it was not clear how intense the communication between Footlik and Netanyahu’s aides was.

The Kan public broadcaster reported that police were in contact with Footlik on Wednesday about reaching him in the US in order to question him regarding his role in Qatargate.

Footlik has agreed to be questioned and the interrogation is expected to take place soon, Kan said.

Jerusalem Post editor released to 5-day house arrest

Klein, the Jerusalem Post editor, was released to a five-day period of house arrest after being questioned. He is suspected of illicit ties with a foreign agent.

According to Channel 12, Klein told investigators that his ties to Qatari officials were forged through his work at the Jerusalem Post. The newspaper hosted a conference to which a Qatari diplomat was invited. Subsequently, he flew to Qatar in order to interview Qatari officials as part of his journalistic work, Klein told interrogators.

Likud MK Amit Helavi on Wednesday demanded an “urgent” parliamentary hearing to discuss “the arrest of the editor of a major newspaper in Israel,” referring to Klein.

In a letter to Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) Halevi called the arrest “no small matter,” and argued that it is imperative for law enforcement bodies to “carefully verify that the arrest is indeed a result of criminal offenses that are not covered by freedom of the press.”

Not claiming to be conversant with all of the details of the case, Halevi wrote that it appeared Klein’s phone was “taken without a warrant,” a serious act which he complained had not prompted an outcry from members of the Israeli news media.

It is the duty of lawmakers “to monitor and ensure that enforcement bodies are acting lawfully” when investigating journalists, Halevi insisted.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich put out a statement on X denouncing Klein’s detention, which he called “an earthquake in a democracy.”

A police source told Haaretz that law enforcement obtained the necessary clearance from the State Attorney’s Office to question Klein, as required for investigating journalists.

Also Wednesday, Shirit Avitan Cohen of the Israel Hayom newspaper said she was summoned by the Lahav 433 serious crime unit for questioning on Thursday.

“Is there still journalistic immunity in Israel in 2025?” she wrote on X. “We’ll find out.”

Bar Association presses PM, aides’ lawyer over conflict

The Israel Bar Association’s ethics committee sent a letter on Wednesday to prominent lawyer Amit Hadad, demanding that he justify his decision to represent Netanyahu, Urich and Einhorn at the same time.

The panel asked Hadad to explain how there is no conflict of interest in representing all three of them, given that they are all involved in the Qatargate investigation.

Of the three, only Urich is currently a suspect.

The IBA’s bylaws bar members from representing a client “if there is a concern that he will not be able to fulfill his professional duty to him” or due to “an obligation or duty of loyalty that he has towards another.”

The bylaws also bar a lawyer from representing “parties with conflicting interests in the same matter.”

During Netanyahu’s separate corruption trial on Monday morning, Hadad left the Tel Aviv courthouse to assist Urich after the latter was arrested in the Qatargate probe.

Hadad asked the court to cancel Netanyahu’s testimony planned for Tuesday to be present for Urich — a request that was accepted.