Netanyahu is shaken by a new scandal connecting his close advisers to Qatar

Like Aviv, Israel (AP) – The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is once again caught up in scandal after the police arrested two of his relatives this week, suspected of accepting money in Qatar to promote a positive image of the Arab State of the Gulf in Israel.

The case has Israelis seized Because Qatar, a country that many consider a boss of Hamas, and who has no formal diplomatic link with Israel, seems to have penetrated the highest corridors of power.

Qatar, who is a key mediator For Hamas in its ceasefire negotiations with Israel, denies the support of the militant group. Netanyahu made a statement to the police on the issue but is not a suspect in the case, who, according to him, is baseless and supposed to overthrow his reign.

The investigation is only the last scandal of Roil Netanyahu, which is the subject of a long time corruption And regularly slows down against a “deep state” which is there to do it.

Critics say that Netanyahu, the oldest Prime Minister in the country, has worked in recent years undermine the state institutions of Israel, including its legal system. More recently, they indicate his attempt to reject The head of the internal security agency of Israelwho also investigates the alleged ties of his office with Qatar.

Netanyahu advisers would have promoted Qataric interests

Nicknamed “Qatargate” by the Israeli media, the investigation focuses on the accusations that two advisers close to Netanyahu – the long -standing media consultant Jonatan Urich, and former spokesperson Eli Feldstein – have been hired to carry out a public relations campaign to improve the image of Qatar among the Israelis while negotiating Hamas game in the Gaza. Payments were reportedly sent by an American lobbyist.

According to a legal document, the American lobbyist and Urich struck a “commercial link” to positively promote Qatar and disseminate negative messages on Egypt, another important mediator in the cease-fire negotiations of Israel-Hamas.

Feldstein would have been paid to transmit these messages to journalists. According to Israeli media, he and Urich could face charges of contact with a foreign agent, money laundering, corruption, fraud and a violation of confidence. Besides the financial gain, all other possible reasons are not clear.

An Israeli journalist interviewed in the case is Zvika Klein, the editor -in -chief of Jerusalem Post, a daily life in English. According to a report of this week in the position, Klein visited Qatar during the invitation of his government last year and then wrote a series of articles on his impressions, one of which presented the Qatar affair against the Israeli claims which he supports the militant group. The newspaper said Klein, who could not be joined to comment, is currently forbidden to speak to journalists.

The lawyers of Urich and Feldstein did not respond to requests for comments.

Netanyahu criticized the investigation as a hunt for political witches and accused the police of keeping his advisers as “hostages” – the wording that has angry a lot in Israel because Hamas still holds dozens of captives inside Gaza after its October 7, 2023, which sparked the war.

A judge extended the detentions of Urich and Feldstein on Tuesday, which was charged in A separate case involving the leak of classified information to a German tabloid.

If the new allegations are supported, “it is an abuse of the office,” said Tomer Naor, of the movement of quality government in Israel. What is particularly worrying, he said, is what facility the external actors seem to have had access to the Prime Minister’s inner circle-and that the advisers would have promoted Qatari discussion points to journalists while giving the impression that the message came from the Prime Minister’s office.

Qatar is a key mediator on Gaza with links with Hamas

The war of almost 18 months in Gaza rages after the collapse last month A 42-day ceasefire that Qatar played a key helping to secure.

Among the Israelis, the Emirate Rich in Gas is best known for having sent money to Gaza from 2018 – an effort intended to help poor families. But analysts and former officials say that some of the money sent with Netanyahu’s blessing made his way to the Hamas military wing and helped him prepare for the attacks of October 7, 2023.

The Israelis are also wary of the intentions of Qatar because it is the basis of Hamas political leaders, and Its Al Jazeera diffuser Israel is considered a spokesperson for Hamas, allegations that the network denies. Qatar says it has provided Humanitarian Aid to Gaza in full coordination with the Israeli government.

When reached by the AP, a head of the Qatari government has not reacted directly to the alleged ties with the advisers of Netanyahu. He said mediation efforts on Gaza would continue. He spoke under the cover of anonymity in accordance with regulations.

Once the target of a regional blockade During its alleged ties with Islamist extremist groups and Iran, Qatar has long sought to be considered as an influential regional player and as a mediator of conflict of trust.

But throughout the war in Gaza, many in Israel, including Netanyahu, expressed anger that Qatar did not do enough to put Hamas to respond to Israel’s conditions for a cease-fire.

Qatar’s objective in the alleged public relations campaign in Israel may have been to repress these accusations and to ensure that they did not influence the United States, with whom he has close security ties, said Yoel Guzansky, principal researcher at the Institute of National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv reflection group.

He declared that any effort for desire for Egypt, a long-standing mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, may have been a means of improving the regional status of Qatar.

Qatar “raises a lot of emotions” in Israel because it is considered to have played a key role in strengthening Hamas before its attack on October 7, Guzansky said. Before the war, Netanyahu had approved the transfer of Qatar funds to Gaza as part of a strategy to contain Hamas, he explained.

“Qatar is despicable. But we have to check each other first,” he said. “We not only allowed, we encouraged Qatar to invest in Gaza.”

The case is the last scandal of Dog Netanyahu

We do not know what, if necessary, Netanyahu knew the alleged reprehensible acts of his advisers.

The previous aid that was in trouble with the law made state witness against Netanyahu in its corruption trial. Netanyahu’s testimony in this trial was interrupted after the arrest of Urich and Feldstein this week; He was summoned to make a statement to the police on the case.

Netanyahu undergoes immense public pressure to accept responsibility for her role in the failure to prevent the attack on October 7, in particular the transfer of Qatari cash to Gaza.

Mass demonstrations have exploded in recent weeks on Netanyahu’s decision to end the ceasefire in Gaza which had facilitated the release of dozens of hostages, and on its measures to dismiss the head of the country’s internal security agency and its attorney general.

The attempt to dismiss the chief of Shin Bet Ronen Bar came as the agency led his own investigation into Qatar’s ties. This caused charges that Netanyahu was trying to reduce the investigation.

Netanyahu suggested, with little evidence, that the investigation was the result of the collusion between Bar and the Attorney General as a means of thwarting the dismissal of the Head of Homeland Security. A court froze the dismissal of the bar pending other hearings. This did not prevent Netanyahu from trying to appoint her replacement.

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