It remains unclear exactly how far Doha’s alleged infiltration of Israel’s centers of power goes.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that the entire Qatargate affair reaches deep into the Israeli state — not to his own hierarchy, however, but to a powerful unelected left-wing bureaucracy that he calls the “deep state,” using a term he openly borrowed from US President Donald Trump.
According to the Qatargate case’s judge, two Netanyahu advisers — 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.
Judge Menachem Mizrahi said that Qatar also wanted Feldstein to spread negative messaging about Egypt’s role in the negotiations.
Police believe that Urich — while spreading pro-Qatar messaging — framed the information as having originated from senior Israeli officials in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Read the full article at the Times of Israel.
