Qatargate: Netanyahu aides accused of taking millions from Qatar

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
Today 15:44
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The Qatargate scandal has implicated aides to Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials, accused of receiving $10 million from Qatar to promote Doha’s image.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a meeting of the right-wing bloc at the Knesset in occupied al-Quds on November 20, 2019. (Gali Tibbon/AFP via Getty Images)

The Qatargate scandal widened Sunday after reports alleged that senior Israeli officials and close aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received payments totaling around $10 million from Qatar in recent years.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, estimates suggest that Doha financed a pro-Qatar public relations campaign in "Israel" through Perception Media, a firm owned by Netanyahu associate Yisrael Einhorn. The company was paid $45,000 per month between 2022 and late 2024, when the project was terminated.

Investigators believe that out of the monthly payments to Perception Media, some $18,000 went to Netanyahu aide Jonatan Urich. Separately, adviser Eli Feldstein reportedly received $11,000 per month.

The remainder of the payments allegedly reached senior security figures, former Mossad officials, and employees of a technology firm. Einhorn and Urich are said to have led the pro-Qatar public relations effort, which aimed to promote Doha’s image ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and extended into the war on Gaza after October 7, 2023.

Arrests, indictments, and expanding probe

The investigation centers on suspicions that Urich and Feldstein committed multiple offenses, including illegal contact with a foreign agent and corrupt dealings with lobbyists and businessmen, while serving as Netanyahu’s aides.

Both men have been arrested and questioned. Einhorn, who now resides in Serbia, was also interrogated by Israeli investigators in Belgrade but has refused to return to "Israel," fearing arrest.

Feldstein already faces indictment in a separate case for allegedly transmitting classified material to the German outlet Bild. Meanwhile, the Shin Bet and Israeli police are probing further links between former security officials and Qatar.

The report revealed that the Israeli public and media were unaware that pro-Qatar narratives promoted during this period originated from Einhorn’s campaign, rather than organically from the Prime Minister’s Office. This has raised questions over covert foreign influence in Israeli public discourse.

The Qatargate scandal continues to expand, with investigators now focusing on ties between former security and intelligence officials and Doha.