PM aides allegedly took money to promote Qatar as hostage mediator, at Egypt’s expense
Urich also suspected of sending Qatar-funded messages to Israeli media claiming they were from a source in Netanyahu’s office; court extends his and Feldstein’s remand
Two aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 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, an Israeli judge said on Tuesday, as he lifted a gag order on the so-called Qatargate case.
The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court extended the remand of the two — Jonatan Urich, who has been a senior aide to the prime minister for many years, and Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for Netanyahu — until Thursday.
Police suspect the two of having contact with a foreign agent, money laundering, bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
Judge Menachem Mizrahi said there was “reasonable suspicion” that Urich and Feldstein did public relations work on Qatar’s behalf, and “a reasonable basis to fear that releasing the suspects, at this stage in the investigation, could obstruct the investigation.”
Law enforcement officials had asked that the court remand the pair in custody for nine more days after they were detained for questioning on Monday.
The court lifted a sweeping gag order on the investigation after Amit Hadad, the attorney for both Urich and Netanyahu, requested its cancellation to expose what he called the “absurd allegations” against Urich.
The police suspicions
Following the lifting of the gag order, Mizrahi summed up the police’s suspicions about Urich and Feldstein.
In the period under investigation, Mizrahi wrote, an American lobbying company called The Third Circle — owned by American pro-Qatar lobbyist Jay Footlik — contacted Feldstein in order to put a positive spin on Doha’s role as a facilitator in the negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The judge said that Qatar also wanted Feldstein to spread negative messaging about Egypt’s role in the negotiations.
To this end, Urich mediated between The Third Circle and Feldstein, who was compensated financially by Footlik through Gulf-based Israeli businessman Gil Birger, according to Mizrahi’s summation.
Last month, the Kan public broadcaster aired a recording of Birger saying he had indeed transferred money from Footlik to Feldstein while the latter was working as Netanyahu’s spokesman.
Tuesday’s hearing further revealed that police believe Urich — while spreading pro-Qatar messaging — framed the information as having originated from senior Israeli officials in the Prime Minister’s Office.
“Urich relayed messages to the media on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Office. The messages were conveyed [to Urich] by an entity that maintains ties to and is funded by the state of Qatar, and they were presented as messages originating from a political or security source,” a police investigator said in court.
Police also said they had questioned both Urich and Netanyahu on Monday as to whether the former had leaked confidential information from the cabinet.
At the hearing, Hadad asked a police representative whether the “foreign agent” with whom Urich and Feldstein are alleged to have been in contact is lobbyist Footlik. “Footlik and the state of Qatar,” the police representative replied.
Origins of the probe
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in late February ordered a criminal investigation, to be carried out by the police and the Shin Bet, into ties between officials working in the Prime Minister’s Office and Qatar.
The announcement followed reported allegations that Feldstein — who was charged in November with harming national security in a separate case involving the theft and leaking of classified IDF documents — worked for Qatar via an international firm contracted by Doha to feed top Israeli journalists pro-Qatar stories.
Two other Netanyahu advisers — Urich and Yisrael Einhorn — were reported last year to be involved in a campaign to improve Qatar’s image surrounding hosting the 2022 World Cup.
Netanyahu derisive, critical
Netanyahu gave open testimony in the case on Monday after being summoned by the police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit. He is not a suspect in the case.
The premier told investigators that he was unaware of any connection between Urich and Feldstein and Qatar or representatives of Qatar, Channel 12 news reported on Tuesday.
Following the arrest of Urich and Feldstein on Monday, Netanyahu issued a video statement accusing the police of holding his two aides “hostage,” sparking outcry from hostage families and opposition politicians.
“I understood beforehand that this was a political investigation, but I did not realize the extent to which that is the case,” Netanyahu said in the video. “They are holding Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein as hostages, embittering their lives over nothing.”
Israel’s cabinet voted unanimously last month to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. Petitions to the High Court have claimed that the move, proposed by Netanyahu, was designed to thwart the Qatargate probe. The allegation is denied by Netanyahu but Bar, in a letter to ministers last month, appeared to endorse it. The court has temporarily frozen Bar’s dismissal until it rules on the petitions.
Jerusalem Post editor questioned under caution
Before interrogating Urich and Feldstein, police on Monday morning questioned a businessman who landed in Israel and reportedly testified about what he knew regarding the transfer of funds from Qatar to Netanyahu’s aides.
Urich and Feldstein were summoned immediately after his questioning concluded, according to Kan.
Police also questioned a journalist as a possible suspect in the probe on Monday. He was identified on Tuesday evening as Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Zvika Klein. He is suspected of contact with a foreign agent.
Klein was summoned to give testimony, and subsequently questioned under caution. A police source told Haaretz that law enforcement obtained the necessary clearance from the State Attorney’s Office to question Klein, as required for questioning journalists.
Channel 13 reported in February that while on the premier’s payroll, former Netanyahu spokesman Feldstein arranged a visit to Qatar for Klein, who published an account of his three-day trip in April 2024, in which he met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and other officials.
Klein posted on X, in response to the TV report, that he visited Qatar at the direct invitation of the Qatari government. He said he had never met Feldstein and only spoke to Feldstein, in Feldstein’s capacity as a public relations person, for the first time after his return from Qatar, to coordinate TV interviews about the visit on Channels 12 and 13. Klein did not specify how he came into contact with Feldstein, or whether he knew Feldstein worked for Netanyahu.
Klein and the unnamed businessman were released on Monday to five days of house arrest, Hebrew media reported.
The Times of Israel Community.