Qatargate Affair: Reserve IDF general questioned with warning on suspicion of bribery, contact with foreign agent

Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yoav “Poli” Mordechai was questioned, with a warning by the Israel Police’s  Lahav 433 special investigation unit, at least two times in recent months, Israel’s Channel 13 revealed. 

The questioning related to suspicions of contact with a foreign agent and accepting a bribe. 

According to the report, a company partially owned by Mordechai transferred hundreds of thousands of shekels to Yonatan Urich, an advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, throughout 2024 as part of a pro-Qatar campaign. Mordechai was previously Urich's commander in the IDF Spokesperson's Office. 

Channel 13 reported that Mordechai's partner in the company was also questioned with a warning. Another person believed to be associated with the campaign, Jay Footlik, a US-based Qatari lobbyist, will be questioned openly on Saturday. 

In Israeli law, the phrase “questioned with a warning” (חקירה באזהרה, hakira be’azhara) indicates that a person is being questioned as a suspect in a criminal case and not as a witness. It involves an explanation of the person’s legal rights as a suspect, similar to the Miranda rights in the U.S. 

Maj. Gen. (res.) Mordechai, 61, retired from the IDF in 2018 after serving as head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), head of the Civil Administration, and IDF spokesman. During the Iron Swords War, he held a central role in the Missing and Captive Soldiers Division in the IDF under Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon. 

Following the report of Mordechai’s questioning by Lahav 433, sometimes referred to as the “Israeli FBI,” the IDF released a statement describing Maj. Gen. Mordechai’s contributions to the hostage issue as “extremely significant.” 

"Without addressing the investigation being conducted outside the IDF, Major General Mordechai has been serving in the reserves since the beginning of the war and continues his service,” the IDF statement read.

“Major General Mordechai is subordinate to the Hostages Command and is fully committed to the Hostages Command. He does not conduct direct negotiations with mediators, but his contribution is highly significant and at times even critical to the effort. Throughout, his professional positions have been courageous and impartial, contributing greatly to the endeavor.” 

The company in question, NOVARD, stated that Maj. Gen. Mordechai has not been involved in any business activity with them since Oct. 7, 2023, when he returned to reserve duty. 

“Novard has been working for years with various countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East in an official, public, and entirely legal manner,” the company stated. “Since October 7, Poli Mordechai has been enlisted for reserve duty to promote the return of hostages. He is not involved in any business activity, and there is a complete separation between Novard's operations in the Middle East and him.” 

During Tuesday’s High Court of Justice hearing on the petitions regarding the appointment of a new head of the Shin Bet, the judges took a recess to hold a hearing on developments in the Qatargate affair.

Following that hearing, Supreme Court President Yitzhak Amit addressed the investigation, saying, “We are talking about a sensitive investigation that relates to people close to the ‘Holy of Holies’ of the Prime Minister's Office. There is an allegation - which I hope will be proven false - of a foreign government infiltrating the ‘Holy of Holies’.” 

So far, Netanyahu himself has not been implicated in any of the investigations of the Qatargate affair.

However, his political opponents have questioned how people that close to him could have conducted business dealings with Qatar without Netanyahu’s knowledge. 

Due to the clear potential for conflict of interest in the Qatargate investigations, Netanyahu specifically stated that the next head of the Shin Bet will be excluded from overseeing the Qatargate scandal.