Qatari official associated with Qatargate investigation in Israel appointed to Gaza Board of Peace

The Qatari representative to the Board of Peace, Ali al-Thawadi, has been referenced in the Qatargate investigations by the Israel Police, and Shin Bet, Ynet News reported Tuesday. 

As part of their investigations, Shin Bet and Police investigators examined ties between al-Thawadi and employees of the Israeli firm Novard, especially meetings and other contact between one senior executive from the company and al-Thawadi. The investigators questioned employees who met with al-Thawadi, including some who met with him during the war and even traveled to Qatar to met with him. 

Al-Thawadi, the Strategic Affairs adviser to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jasim Al-Thani, and a key member of the Qatari delegations during the hostage negotiations during the war, is the Qatar representative to the Gaza Board of Peace. 

In September 2025, al-Thawadi was present in the Oval Office during the “apology call" between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani, following the Israeli strikes on Hamas leadership in Doha, Qatar. 

Al-Thawadi was also a member of the team involved in Qatar’s 2022 hosting of the World Cup, and during that time, Novard began its business relationship with the World Cup organizing committee, providing cybersecurity services during the event which was watched globally. 

According to the Ynet report, one of the Israelis investigated by Israel Police and Shin Bet as part of Qatargate, is former senior Mossad official retired Maj. Gen. Yoav “Poli” Mordechai, an executive with Novard. 

The Democrats Party Chairman Yair Golan attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following Ynet's revelation about al-Thawadi. 

“Qatar funded Hamas and the October 7 massacre,” Golan said. “Qatar funded Netanyahu's office. And now, 800 days after the war, Netanyahu is giving control of Gaza to Qatar.” 

“This is a red line,” Golan continued. “The suspicions of betrayal by Netanyahu's office are resonating. He must leave the Prime Minister's Office and go straight into the interrogation rooms to explain his ties to funding Qatar and Hamas.” 

On Monday, Opposition head Yair Lapid called on the United States to declare Qatar an enemy state. 

“Qatar is an enemy of the US, an enemy of Israel, an enemy of the Jewish people and an enemy of the entire world,” Lapid said during the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. 

“What we saw on campuses in the US is the result of Qatari money promoting antisemitism and radical Islam, when at the same time they were paying money to people closest to the prime minister,” Lapid continued, referring to the Qatargate affair. 

Lapid had previously submitted a bill to the Knesset, calling on the Israeli government to declare Qatar an enemy state. The Ministerial Committee for Legislation voted against Lapid’s bill on Sunday, causing him to question whether the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had instructed cabinet ministers to oppose it.