After Report Alleging Classified Information Was Passed to Qatar, Yonatan Urich Moves to Sue Israel Hayom

Yonatan Urich, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sent a pre-lawsuit warning letter today (Monday) to the newspaper Israel Hayom through his attorneys, Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein. The letter followed the newspaper’s report yesterday, which alleged, citing a “security source,” that Urich and two other advisers to the prime minister, Srulik Einhorn and Eli Feldstein, had allegedly passed Qatar classified information from security discussions concerning Egypt.

Urich firmly rejects the allegations, calling the report false, serious, and baseless. The letter sent by his attorneys states: “Our client has never passed Qatar classified information or information originating in security discussions, and was not involved in any action of this kind.” He argues that the report effectively accuses him of “an act of treason,” while the claim that the prime minister’s advisers served as “Qatari agents” is an absolute lie intended to smear his name and harm Netanyahu’s inner circle.

The letter further argues that the report was published without even a minimal factual review. Urich stressed that he has never been questioned or asked to respond to suspicions of this kind. According to him, reliance on an anonymous “security source” cannot legitimize the claims that were published. The warning letter states: “The gap between what you claim was verified and the accusation you turned into a headline is substantial.”

According to Urich, the report did not remain confined to the article itself and became a tool for political attacks against the prime minister and his circle. The letter noted that Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, and Yair Golan used the report to attack the government, and that it even led to claims that “an appearance of treason against the State of Israel will be proven.”

In light of this, Urich is demanding that Israel Hayom immediately stop disseminating the allegations and publish a prominent apology “in the same placement and size as the original headline that was published.” His attorneys also said that he intends to file a substantial damages lawsuit over the alleged harm to his reputation. According to them, “the publication served as fuel for hurling serious accusations against our client and against Likud.”

The letter gave the newspaper a deadline of Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. to respond. At the same time, Israel Hayom was instructed to preserve all raw materials, drafts, and correspondence related to preparing the article, ahead of the planned legal proceedings.