Cnn
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Two partners close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were placed in pre -trial detention for three days, following their arrest by Israeli police on Monday as part of an investigation into alleged illegal ties between higher aid and Qatar, a case that has become Qatargate.
An Israeli court prolonged Yonatan Urich’s initial detention on Tuesday on Tuesday, the closest advisor to Netanyahu, and former three -day assistant Eli Feldstein, saying that their release would disrupt their investigation into their suspected involvement in the conduct of public relations for Qatar. The judge rejected the initial police request for detention of nine days to investigate.
In court, the judge said that an examination of the classified documents submitted indicated reasonable suspicions that an American company had contacted one of the suspects to disseminate negative messages on Egypt, and minimize his role in mediation efforts to release all the hostages of October 7 and reach a permanent cease-fire.
Documents show that Yonatan and Feldstein are suspected by prosecutors of having taken bribes and “working to transfer messages to journalists in a way that presented sympathetic articles on Qatar to the media, minimizing the role of Egypt as a fair mediator in the agreement, while dictating the media agenda”.
The judge said that a previous tag on the procedure had been made empty of meaning because it had been widely ignored.
Israeli police and courts have so far refused to respond to CNN’s requests for the exact details of the accusations.
CNN contacted lawyers for the defense of suspects to comment.
The editor -in -chief of Jerusalem Post, Zvika Klein, was questioned on Monday by the police as part of the investigation, but the “nature of any allegation against him was not specified,” the Israeli media said on Tuesday.
Klein visited Qatar last year “at the direct invitation” of the country and wrote a series of articles for the post after his visit, according to the newspaper.
Israeli Outlet Channel 13 said in a report last month that Klein’s visit to Qatar was organized by Feldstein, which Klein denied.
A head of the Qatari government told CNN that the country had been subject to “a defamation campaign” by people who wanted to see a continuation of the war in Gaza.
“We will continue our mediation efforts, as well as the United States and our regional partners, and will not be distracted or dissuaded by those who actively seek to derail the negotiations and prolong the conflict,” said the manager.
Netanyahu also testified on the case on the police on Monday, according to a video published by the Prime Minister on his telegram account. He said the case was politically motivated.
“It is a political investigation, a political hunting, that’s all, there is nothing else,” said Netanyahu.
Netanyahu also said that the investigation was to prevent him from rejecting Ronen Bar, head of the internal security department of the Shin Bet country.
The agency recently opened an investigation into the allegations according to which members of the Netanyahu office inappropriately pressure in the name of Qatar – which its office denies.
The Israeli media recently quoted Netanyahu’s attempt to disrupt an investigation into Qatargate as a reason to request the withdrawal of the Bar and the Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Despite the name on Monday on Monday, the former commander of the navy, vice-admiral, Eli Sharvit, as a choice for the next chief of Shin Bet, Netanyahu’s decision to reject the current chief still faces a legal challenge.
The Shin Bet, which monitors domestic threats against Israel, conducted an internal investigation into the attacks of October 7, 2023 which determined that the agency had “failed in its mission” to prevent the fatal aggression and the kidnapping of Hamas. But that also blamed the policies adopted by the Netanyahu government as a contributory factors.
Among them, the Shin Bet declared, payments of several years from Qatar to Hamas. These payments were blessed by Israel, whose government thought it was advantageous to stimulate a political corner between Gaza and the West Bank.
The head of the Israeli opposition, Yair, Lapid, said that the arrest of two of Netanyahu’s assistants “is a violation of confidence, a threat to national security and a serious prejudice to the credibility and the position of Israel in the world”, warning that “Netanyahu cannot reflect responsibility”.
“If he knew – he is an accomplice of a terrible failure. If he did not know – he is unfit to continue to serve as Prime Minister of Israel,” Lapid said in a statement on Tuesday.
Another opposition figure, Benny Gantz, also criticized Netanyahu, saying: “The more the” Qatargate “investigation progresses, the more Netanyahu is determined in his battle against the institutions responsible for the investigation. The greater the investigation – the greater the subversion. ”