Prosecutors Order More Police Steps in the "Qatar-Gate" Case

Israel Police are carrying out additional investigative steps in the case known as the "Qatar-Gate" affair. This is being done under instructions from the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office and with the approval of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. That is according to a report published today (Monday) by Ynet. The additional investigative steps were requested ahead of the possibility that prosecutors may file indictments in the case.

According to the report, several diplomatic correspondents appeared today to give testimony. They were questioned about their ties to former Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson Eli Feldstein, and about the extent to which they did or did not know that he was also allegedly working on behalf of Qatar’s interests.

The report said the journalists confirmed to investigators that Feldstein had served as an official spokesperson for the prime minister. They were also asked about their ties to Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson Yonatan Urich, and most of them responded that there were no such ties because Urich’s work with the prime minister deals with political matters rather than diplomatic ones.

As previously reported, in January Lahav 433 announced that it had completed its investigation into the Qatar-Gate affair and transferred the case to the State Attorney’s Office. Once the additional investigative steps are completed, prosecutors will announce their decision on whether to file indictments against those involved.

As part of the Qatar-Gate affair, investigators are examining the connection between the Qatari government and figures in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office and his associates — Yonatan Urich, Eli Feldstein, and Israel איינהורן. According to the suspicions, during the months of fighting in Gaza, sums totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars were transferred from the Qatari government to advisers close to Netanyahu’s office.

According to the suspicions, the money was first transferred to American lobbyist Jay Potlik, who worked for Qatar. From there, according to investigators’ version of events, the money was passed to Birger Holdings, a company owned by Israeli businessman Gil Birger. That company paid Feldstein’s salary while he was employed at the Prime Minister’s Office.

In addition to the investigation into the money trail, internal correspondence among members of the Prime Minister’s Office was exposed, in which they discussed messages intended for journalists. According to the materials collected, the advisers were involved in smearing Egypt and undermining its role as a central mediator.