Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel has been gripped by allegations linking aides of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to financing from Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and helped broker the release of hostages from Gaza.
Dubbed "Qatargate" by Israeli media, the reports that sparked the investigation claimed that some of the people closest to Netanyahu were recruited to promote Qatar in Israel, even though the two countries have no formal diplomatic ties.
At least two of Netanyahu's aides are suspected of receiving payments from the Qatari government to promote Doha's interests in Israel.
With the investigation ongoing, some details remain unclear.
Allegations of ties between members of Netanyahu's close circle and the Qatari government have swirled in the Israeli press since mid-2024.
The affair ramped up Monday when two aides, one current and one former, were arrested and Netanyahu was called in for questioning in a probe he slammed as a "political witch hunt".
Though the Israeli leader is not a suspect, he is separately on trial over corruption and breach of trust allegations.
"They are holding Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein hostage," Netanyahu said in an angry video post after being questioned.
Asked by AFP for comment, a Qatari government official said it was "not the first time we have been subject of a smear campaign by those who do not want to see an end to this conflict or the remaining hostages returned to their families".
The official also said Qatar would "continue our mediation efforts" on the war.
Yonatan Urich, who has been working closely with Netanyahu for most of the past decade, started out as the social media manager for the prime minister's Likud party.
Urich also co-owns a media consulting firm called Perception with Yisrael Einhorn, who has also worked with Netanyahu.
It is not the first time influential Israeli figures have been accused of receiving payments from Qatar.
According to Israeli media reports, Perception was hired to improve Qatar's image ahead of the 2022 World Cup, though Urich and the firm denied the claims at the time.
Eli Feldstein is already under investigation for leaking classified documents to journalists during the short time he worked unofficially as the prime minister's military affairs spokesman.
According to reports, Netanyahu was seeking to offer Feldstein a more permanent role but after failing to receive the necessary security clearance, he remained an external contractor.
Last month, an investigation by Israel's Channel 12 alleged that while working for Netanyahu, Feldstein received a salary from Jay Footlik, a known US lobbyist for Qatar.
Further reports on Monday said that Feldstein promoted Qatar to Israeli journalists and arranged trips for them to Doha.
Footlik owns a consulting firm, Third Circle Inc., registered under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as working for Qatar.
An Israeli court on Tuesday said suspicions were related to Third Circle and funds aimed at "projecting a positive image of Qatar" in relation to its role as a mediator for a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.
A final name that has been linked to the affair is Israeli businessman Gil Birger, who this month told Israel's state broadcaster that he had been asked by Footlik to pay Feldstein through his company.
Jonathan Rynhold, head of political studies at Bar-Ilan University, told AFP that the affair "ties all bad things relating to Netanyahu together in one package."
"This links Netanyahu directly to the policy of appeasing Hamas," Rynhold said, referring to Israel allowing Qatar to send millions of dollars in cash into Gaza that many now believe strengthened Hamas and enabled it to conduct its October 7, 2023, attack.
Still, the affair has piled more pressure on Netanyahu, who has clashed with the judiciary over his bid to sack Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet domestic security agency.
Bar's relationship with the Netanyahu government soured after he blamed the executive for the security fiasco of Hamas's October 2023 attack and, crucially, following a Shin Bet probe into Qatargate.
It is unclear how Netanyahu will manage the fallout from the affair.
"It is too early to say how it will develop," said Professor Gideon Rahat of the Hebrew University.
"Will he need to sacrifice these two people? If he sacrifices them, will they open their mouths?" Rahat said.
For now, he is fighting back and "framing it as though the secret service is after him because he wants to kick out the head of the secret service", Rahat added.
"In a normal country, if the prime minister had spies in his office, he would resign, but we are not in normal times."