Benjamin Netanyahu's Qatar problem

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far remained impervious to the controversies that have dogged his career. But the question of how a foreign power viewed as an enemy to Israel was able to infiltrate the highest levels of his government could prove a scandal too far.

"Qatargate" focuses on an investigation into two of his close aides receiving payments from the Qatari government to give the country favourable publicity in Israel and internationally.

The scandal broke as Netanyahu was giving testimony in his corruption case hearing in Tel Aviv, in which he is accused of bribery and fraud. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing. A police summons forced the prime minister to leave his hearing after his aides, Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, were arrested.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Netanyahu has called the investigation a "political witch hunt" with "baseless" accusations and, though he is not implicated himself in Qatargate, "the affair has piled more pressure" on him, said AFP.

What are the accusations?

Urich, who is Netanyahu's "top spin doctor", and Feldstein, his "spokesman for military affairs", are both accused of accepting money in exchange for "burnishing Qatar’s image", said The Economist. In a separate investigation, Feldstein is also accused of having "leaked state secrets to a German newspaper" to change the "discourse surrounding ceasefire talks with Hamas".

As well as the promotion of Qatar's image, the two men are also accused of taking payments to help in "marginalising Egypt". "If proven" this could give "credence" to the notion that Qatar is operating as a "strategic competitor to Egypt". Egypt has a "strong interest in ending the war" because of its proximity to Gaza, said The Jerusalem Post.

Both Urich and Feldstein are being investigated by the Israeli internal security service Shin Bet, whose chief Ronen Bar has been at odds with Netanyahu for some time. Relations between the pair have long been "strained", said The Observer, but the "relationship further deteriorated" after Shin Bet publicly pointed to government failures that led to the 7 October attack by Hamas.

In an "overlapping scandal", Netanyahu has tried to remove Bar from his position since the Qatargate investigation began. However, the decision was suspended by the Supreme Court pending filings from the opposition.

Why are they significant?

Qatargate has been front and centre in the Israeli media in recent weeks, not only because it envelops those at the top of government in another scandal, but because Qatar is perceived to be a long-time supporter of Hamas.

Doha has for years been Hamas' biggest financial backer. It has sent millions of dollars into Gaza, payments that were "welcomed" by the Netanyahu government, said The New York Times. While the payments were "ostensibly a secret", it was "widely known" that the government operated with the strategy that, prior to 7 October, the money would keep Hamas "focused on governing, not fighting". This was based on the "flawed assessment that Hamas was neither interested in nor capable of a large-scale attack". There is now the belief that the payments gave Hamas "the time and funds to plan its assault on Israel", said The Economist.

Despite the 7 October attack, the Israeli government has maintained "close ties with Qatar", which has played a key role in negotiations between Israel and Hamas, said Ynetnews. The news that the main financier of Israel's enemy is allegedly buying positive publicity through "individuals with ties to the political elite" has sent "shockwaves through Israel".

What will happen to Netanyahu?

What kind of punishment Urich and Feldstein would receive if found guilty is currently unclear. Urich's lawyer has argued that "his client is not a civil servant" and therefore can't be charged with the crimes that would apply to civil servants, like bribery and breach of trust, said The Times of Israel. The judge overseeing the case "rejected this argument" on the precedent that it is "the essence of their job" that defines if they are working as a civil servant.

For Netanyahu, it is a headache to add to a growing list as he tries to maintain public support. The prime minister is "no stranger to scandal" and "has always managed to find a way to cling on to power – and public support", said The Observer. The Qatargate scandal, however, "may yet widen" and Israel may slip into a "constitutional crisis" if the Supreme Court rules in favour of Bar.

How Netanyahu navigates these tricky waters "hinges on the prime minister’s formidable instinct – and redoubtable talent – for self-preservation".