PM Netanyahu under pressure after new revelations in ‘Qatargate’ and ‘Document Leak’ scandals

Recent revelations relating to two of the major scandals in Israel’s political landscape provided critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with new ammunition against him.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who hopes to replace Netanyahu next year following planned new elections, seized on new information about “Qatargate,” a case in which former close aides of the prime minister are suspected of receiving payments to improve the Gulf emirate’s image in Israel.

Israel’s i24 News reported on Sunday that Netanyahu's former aides, Eli Feldstein and Jonathan Urich, had fabricated information they attributed to “senior security officials” and “senior American officials.”

They also allegedly corresponded with a reporter from Channel 14, widely seen as a pro-Netanyahu media outlet, in an effort to “refine” a story he wrote using the same information.

According to a Ynet News report in August, Yisrael Einhorn, whose media company “Perception Media” worked directly with Qatar, crafted the messages that were then forwarded to Feldstein, who shared them with Urich.

Urich allegedly disseminated the pro-Qatar messages to journalists to improve Doha’s image in Israel.

Bennett responded to i24’s report by demanding Netanyahu’s “immediate resignation” for the “most serious act of treason in Israeli history.”

“Netanyahu’s office betrayed the State of Israel and IDF soldiers during wartime and acted on behalf of Qatar for financial gain, and Netanyahu himself is covering it up,” he charged in a video statement on 𝕏.

“Three of Netanyahu’s closest advisers were in effect paid agents of Qatar and Hamas at the height of the war, while our soldiers were fighting and being killed by Hamas bullets purchased with Qatari money,” Bennett added.

Other opposition leaders joined in, with Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Liberman calling for a state commission of inquiry that would include Qatargate.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also called the scandal “the most serious treason affair in the history of the country,” while Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz demanded that Netanyahu “provide explanations to the public about everything he knew regarding what was done in his office on behalf of Qatar.”

In addition to the i24 report, Feldstein accused Netanyahu of being aware of the happenings in the German newspaper “Bild” or the “Leaked Documents” scandal.

Speaking in a Kan News interview that aired on Monday, Feldstein said the prime minister knew about his efforts to leak classified intelligence information to the "Bild" in an attempt to sway Israeli public opinion against a hostage deal.

He and Urich are suspected of leaking a classified document ostensibly authored by slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, aiming to distract Israeli public opinion from Hamas’ murder of six Israeli hostages and to sway opinion toward Netanyahu’s policies at the time.

Feldstein also claimed that Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, who was recently approved as Israel’s next ambassador to the United Kingdom, had received information about a secret military investigation into Feldstein’s conduct but assured him that he would be able to stop the probe.

Responding to the Kan report, Braverman accused Feldstein of “lying and making things up,” noting that he had “no ability or influence over ongoing investigations” and “only knew about the investigation when it was published by the media.”

Netanyahu’s office responded by saying the prime minister “never gave Feldstein an order – either directly or indirectly – to leak classified intelligence. He did not authorize the circumvention of the military censor… nor was he involved in any illegal act.”

“After months of persecution by the Attorney General’s Office and the Shin Bet against Feldstein, it is no wonder that he is willing to say anything the left wants, including fabricating claims against the prime minister,” the Prime Minister's Office added.