JERUSALEM: Israel has been gripped by allegations linking aides of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to financing from Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and helped broker the release of hostages from Gaza.

Dubbed “Qatargate” by Israeli media, the reports that sparked the investigation claimed that some of the people closest to Netanyahu were recruited to promote Qatar in Israel, even though the two countries have no formal diplomatic ties.

At least two of Netanyahu’s aides are suspected of receiving payments from the Qatari government to promote Doha’s interests in Israel. With the investigation ongoing, some details remain unclear. Allegations of ties between members of Netanyahu’s close circle and the Qatari government have swirled in the Israeli press since mid-2024.

The affair ramped up Monday when two aides, one current and one former, were arrested and Netanyahu was called in for questioning in a probe he slammed as a “political witch hunt”. Though the Israeli leader is not a suspect, he is separately on trial over corruption and breach of trust allegations.

“They are holding Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein hostage,” Netanyahu said in an angry video post after being questioned. A Qatari government official said it was “not the first time we have been subject of a smear campaign by those who do not want to see an end to this conflict or the remaining hostages returned to their families”. The official also said Qatar would “continue our mediation efforts” on the war.

Who are the suspects?

Yonatan Urich, who has been working closely with Netanyahu for most of the past decade, started out as the social media manager for the prime minister’s Likud party.

Urich also co-owns a media consulting firm called Perception with Yisrael Einhorn, who has also worked with Netanyahu. It is not the first time influential Israeli figures have been accused of receiving payments from Qatar.

According to Israeli media reports, Perception was hired to improve Qatar’s image ahead of the 2022 World Cup, though Urich and the firm denied the claims at the time. Eli Feldstein is already under investigation for leaking classified documents to journalists during the short time he worked unofficially as the prime minister’s military affairs spokesman. According to reports, Netanyahu was seeking to offer Feldstein a more permanent role but after failing to receive the necessary security clearance, he remained an external contractor.

Last month, an investigation by Israel’s Channel 12 alleged that while working for Netanyahu, Feldstein received a salary from Jay Footlik, a known US lobbyist for Qatar. Further reports said that Feldstein promoted Qatar to Israeli journalists and arranged trips for them to Doha.

Footlik owns a consulting firm, Third Circle Inc., registered under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as working for Qatar. An Israeli court on Tuesday said suspicions were related to Third Circle and funds aimed at “projecting a positive image of Qatar” in relation to its role as a mediator for a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.

A final name that has been linked to the affair is Israeli businessman Gil Birger, who this month told Israel’s state broadcaster that he had been asked by Footlik to pay Feldstein through his company.

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2025