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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly left his trial on Monday to give testimony in the latest scandal involving his senior advisers and their ties to Qatar. The development is the latest twist in an investigation dubbed Qatargate, which has engulfed the veteran Israeli leader and his inner circle. On Tuesday morning, police requested to extend the suspects’ remand by nine days. One of the advisers, Jonatan Urich, still holds a position in Netanyahu’s office as one of his closest aides. A former aide, Eli Feldstein, was recently charged with harming national security in a separate case involving the theft and leak of classified Israeli military documents.
The latest investigation, led by Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, focuses on Feldstein’s work at an international firm contracted by Qatar to promote pro-Qatar stories to Israeli journalists while he was also employed in the Prime Minister’s Office. Urich is suspected of involvement in a complex network of businesspeople and officials who allegedly facilitated payments from Doha while attempting to conceal their origin.
Israel and Qatar do not have formal diplomatic ties but have maintained discreet economic and political interactions for decades. Security cooperation began in the 1990s and has included intelligence-sharing between agencies. Trade relations have fluctuated, often influenced by Israel’s ongoing conflict with the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. Qatar has played a central role in mediation between Israel and Hamas since the war began in October 2023. The Gulf state has hosted several Hamas leaders while simultaneously taking part in negotiations with Israel on sensitive issues such as hostage releases and ceasefires.
“Qatar confuses many countries, not only Israel,” Dr. Ariel Admoni, an expert on Qatar’s foreign and domestic policy at Bar-Ilan University, told The Media Line. “It plays on both sides. It funds terrorist organizations and organizations aimed at destabilizing regimes but also has ties with legitimate governments. It is a country with no loyalty to either side.”
Legally, ties with Qatar or Qatari citizens are not prohibited in Israel.
Admoni said he was not surprised by the latest allegations involving Israeli ties to Qatar, although many details remain under a gag order.
“Qatar understands that countries and people are looking to promote short-term interests, and that by helping them, it gains a foothold,” he said. “This will allow them access to the next foothold. Mediation leads to business ties, then to covert diplomatic ties, and so on—sometimes using bribes.”
Qatar has been implicated in similar efforts involving senior figures in other countries. In 2022, British authorities denied allegations that Prince Charles accepted millions of pounds from Qatar as alleged donations, describing them instead as charitable contributions to organizations sponsored by the monarchy.
“This method has been a known secret in many countries,” Admoni added. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the findings go deeper. In other countries, once investigations began, it was discovered that the initial allegations were just the tip of the iceberg.”
Israel, like many countries, finds itself troubled by Qatar as it struggles to balance the Gulf state’s ties with Hamas and other enemies of Israel against its growing global influence. Qatar’s foreign policy relies on soft power backed by its vast wealth, using financial resources to weave a broad web of influence.
“Qatar has adopted an extremely smart strategy based on the Muslim Brotherhood doctrine, which believes in gaining influence initially through financial means in order to create sympathy for them and alignment with their views,” Udi Levy, a former senior Mossad officer and senior researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said. “With Israel, the strategy was to develop economic, intelligence, and political relations without evolving into full diplomatic relations.”
According to Levy, Israel and other Western countries fail to fully grasp this strategy.
“It is easy to be captivated by the money, the grandeur, and the charm,” he said, adding that many Israelis have become deeply involved with Qatar. “Israel has become increasingly dependent on Qatar.”
Qatar’s relationship with Israel has come under renewed scrutiny during the Israel-Hamas war and the subsequent hostage crisis. Hamas took 250 hostages during its surprise offensive against Israel on October 7, 2023. Since then, Qatar has played a leading role as a mediator between Israel and the terrorist group. Many Israelis have questioned the Gulf state’s ability to serve as an honest broker. Regardless, Israel has no alternative but to negotiate through Doha.
The alleged involvement of Netanyahu’s aides with Qatar has raised further questions and concerns. Netanyahu has been criticized by opponents for stalling negotiations and allegedly hindering talks for his own political survival. They claim he is delaying the release of all the hostages out of fear that a national inquiry will hold him responsible for the failures that led to the October 7 attack and Hamas’ rise over the past two decades.
In 2018, Netanyahu became the first Israeli leader to approve the transfer of $15 million in Qatari cash to Hamas-controlled Gaza. The funds were intended to pay civil servants and provide humanitarian relief in an effort to ease tensions and prevent escalation. Coined in Israel as the “conception,” the policy of improving Gaza’s economy to prevent conflict is now believed by many to have ultimately empowered Hamas. Much of the money is believed to have been diverted to Hamas’ military capabilities, even as civilians in Gaza remained in extreme poverty. Over the years, Qatar has sent up to $1 billion in cash to Gaza.
“Without Qatari involvement, Israel will not be able to bring the hostages back,” said Levy. “The same goes for any future Israeli relations with other Arab countries. Qatar will also likely play a key role in any negotiations between the US and Iran.”
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Now, Israel finds itself relying on Qatar to help secure the hostages’ release, even as it questions the Gulf state’s motives.
“Qatar’s motives often seem undefined, but it is looking for influence behind closed doors,” said Admoni. “In its goal to be an actor that is always on people’s minds, it would not surprise me if Qatar acts to prolong the hostage negotiations as much as possible without reaching a resolution.”
The latest allegations involving Netanyahu’s close aides come on top of the prime minister’s ongoing trial for corruption and breach of trust. They have added fuel to the opposition, which has long questioned his motives.