New uproar over ‘Qatargate’: Opposition blasts Netanyahu over fmr aide’s alleged ChatGPT-fueled pro-Qatar campaign

Israel’s prime minister has come under fire once again following new revelations about the so-called “Qatargate” affair in which his former close aide Yonatan Urich is accused of having participated in a public relations campaign to improve Qatar's image.

On Monday, Channel 12 News reported details from Urich’s police investigation, according to which he used ChatGPT for ideas on how to improve the public opinion of Qatar, which many Israeli politicians have described as an enemy state because of its support for the Hamas terrorist organization.

The reported activity dates to September 2024, almost a year into the war. Urich previously claimed that his PR work for Qatar was limited to the 2022 World Cup and took place only while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the opposition.

He told interrogators that he had “absolutely nothing to do with this” alleged pro-Qatar campaign during the war.

However, Channel 12 reports that investigators confronted Urich with records of his ChatGPT queries, including “requests to ChatGPT, which you used several times to ask it to build a ‘strategic plan for changing global perceptions’ regarding Qatar.”

According to the report, one of the queries read: “I am requesting additional ideas to improve the image of the Qatari prime minister and the Emir of Qatar, and I am requesting three key messages for the target audiences – Israeli citizens, Jewish communities around the world, and opinion leaders in the United States – that could help whitewash Qatar and improve its image.”

Urich reportedly responded to the investigators, “I don’t remember what I asked the chatbot. I ask it about many subjects. I did not act or do anything on behalf of Qatar in Israel – not with the Israeli media, not with Israeli citizens, and not with the prime minister.”

He argued on 𝕏 that the report had been known to several journalists, “but none of them considered it worth mentioning my ChatGPT queries because I did nothing with them. This was also proven in the investigation.”

The latest report provided fresh ammunition for opposition leaders, who have portrayed Netanyahu and his inner circle as a national security risk since Qatargate first emerged.

Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot noted that Urich continues to be employed by Netanyahu’s office: “A Qatari agent operated – and continues to operate – inside the Prime Minister’s Office, where he engaged in psychological terrorism against Israeli citizens. A reasonable and competent prime minister would have announced Urich’s immediate dismissal this evening, condemned his actions, and permanently barred him from every forum. This rot is costing us lives.”

“This evening, we received further proof that the hand that financed the Nukhba terrorists who massacred us is the same hand that financed the person closest to the prime minister,” charged Together party leader, Naftali Bennett.

“This is the most serious treason affair in the country’s history: from inside the Holy of Holies – the Prime Minister’s Office – during wartime, efforts were made to whitewash the image of our most dangerous enemy, Qatar.”

Avigdor Liberman, chairman of the party Yisrael Beiteinu, said he would “demand an investigation into the Prime Minister’s Office for treason against the State of Israel during wartime” under the next government.

Urich has repeatedly made headlines in Israeli media in recent weeks. About two weeks ago, Haaretz reported that he had used Anthropic’s Claude AI engine to create an intelligence tool that scanned 50 news sources every 90 seconds for reports about Netanyahu or his wife.

However, the AI tool reportedly led to a security breach after Urich uploaded the unencrypted code to the code-sharing site GitHub, making it publicly accessible and exposing confidential information, including the private phone numbers of senior officials.

Earlier this week, Urich confirmed that his WhatsApp account was hacked after messages were leaked showing conversations between him and several public figures, including Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal.

In addition to Qatargate, Urich is also a suspect in the “Bild" or "Leaked Documents" affair, a case involving the alleged leak of curated stolen intelligence to the German newspaper Bild in an apparent attempt to improve Netanyahu’s public image after Hamas murdered six Israeli hostages in captivity.