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2025-05-12 Israel-Palestine-Jordan
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'Secret Codes': Israelis are looking for sheikh lovers in the army and secret services
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] In the months since the scandal with the Qatari lobby in Israel, the emphasis in the case has changed significantly.
The former lead defendant, Eli Feldstein, whose removal began the investigation into what would later become "Qatargate," was at some point relegated to the "background" of the scandal.
But the case now has not only a "civilian" aspect, but also a military one. It turned out that the "Qatari lobby" could have penetrated not only the prime minister's office, but also the army and intelligence services, ensuring Doha's secret surveillance of Israel's political course.
True, there were also those for whom this turn of history turned out to be more beneficial.
TWO ASSISTANTS - ONE JOB
The Prime Minister's Office (and Benjamin Netanyahu himself ) publicly distanced themselves from the disgraced aide in the first days after his arrest, stating that Feldstein acted on his own initiative and without the prime minister's knowledge.
But they spared no effort to save him from prison. The defendant's interests are represented in court by Amit Hadad, who defended the prime minister during the most high-profile investigations.
Of course, the allocation of “lawyer No. 1” can be seen as Netanyahu’s desire to protect his own reputation (and stay in power), but for Feldstein, who is under investigation, even this kind of help came in handy.
Another former assistant to the prime minister, Jonathan Urich, is experiencing much greater pressure from the investigation. He was arrested later than Feldstein, but rather quickly transformed from a simple lobbyist for Qatari interests into one of the key figures in the case.
It was Urich who was credited with the role of financial intermediary, ensuring the circulation of funds within the framework of "Qatargate". We are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars that were paid from the Qatari treasury and were used to whitewash Doha's reputation.
True, unlike Feldstein, Urich was not a civil servant and worked in the office as a volunteer. This meant that he had the opportunity to openly collaborate with foreign governments.
Moreover, Qatar (even in the absence of diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv) was not considered a hostile country, and Israeli business was actively building up behind-the-scenes ties in Doha.
In other words, Urich's receipt of the notorious "suitcases of money", if it did take place, was not reprehensible. Just like his participation in whitewashing Qatar's reputation. And this is a fundamental difference from those involved who were "in charge" during the scandal.
However, such arguments were not enough for the court, and Urich was left in custody with the label of an agent of influence of Qatari intelligence.
THE TRAIL LEADS TO THE MILITARY
Of course, Urich is far from the only one accused of receiving money from Qatari agents. Along with him, several employees of the Israeli special services and army intelligence, whose names are not disclosed, are involved in the case.
The Israeli FBI (Lahav-433 police department) suspects them of collaborating with Qatari intelligence services.
Prosecutors say the suspects established ties with Qatari security operatives ahead of the 2022 World Cup and received instructions from them "via secret code" over the years.
They could theoretically ensure the penetration of the country's security system by "moles" working in the interests of the Arabian monarchy.
True, the accusations against Israeli intelligence officers are mostly based on circumstantial evidence, and therefore it has not yet been possible to fully accuse them of working for Qatar. In all cases, the case was limited to interrogations and confrontations.
However, some prosecutors believe that the roots of "Qatargate" should be sought not in 2022, but much earlier, in the mid-2010s. And therefore, in the case of "Qatar ciphers" they rushed to comb through even high-ranking retired officials of past years.
Among others questioned was General Yoav Mordechai, who served as the government's coordinator for activities in the territories of Judea and Samaria until his retirement in 2018 and served as an informal channel of dialogue between the authorities and Palestinian factions.
In addition, Mordechai has repeatedly made comments in Arabic-language media, explaining Tel Aviv’s policies, and has especially often appeared on the air of the Qatari holding Al Jazeera.
The totality of the above was enough for Israeli law enforcement to suspect the general of sympathizing with the sheikhs. Especially since Mordechai, during his time as coordinator, did not allow himself a single critical attack on Doha and maintained close ties with its politicians.
These ties were not broken even during the period when Qatar was under diplomatic blockade by its Arab neighbors. However, as in the case of the intelligence officers, no specific charges were brought against the retired general.
NETANYAHU EMERGES FROM THE ATTACK
The fuss that has arisen around the “reprehensible connections” of the military and intelligence officers is partly to the advantage of Netanyahu and his entourage. The prime minister’s camp has received a unique opportunity to turn “Qatargate” with its tip towards those who tried to use it to undermine the position of the “unsinkable Bibi.”
First of all, the new interpretation of the scandal with the “Qatari lobby” hits the position of the head of the Israeli General Security Service (Shabaq) Ronen Bar.
He entered into a protracted conflict with Netanyahu amid failures and miscalculations in the Gaza Strip and used “Qatargate” to blame ill-wishers and hold on to his seat.
Now that representatives of the security sector are involved in the case, playing the prosecutor is no longer so safe.
Moreover, the “bridge” thrown by the investigators to the intelligence services and the army will allow Netanyahu to more easily remove inconvenient figures from the vertical of power, appealing to their involvement in “Qatargate”.
As for Urich, he plays the role of a bargaining chip in this case. The Prime Minister's office thus acknowledges the fact of leaks (which have already been proven from various sides) and simultaneously removes the Prime Minister from the line of fire.
Moreover, it does so with almost no image losses, since it turns out that the main work with Qatar was carried out by a “private individual”, who at some point crossed the line of what was permitted.
Feldstein, if some of the accusations against him are proven, will get off with a minimal punishment even in the worst case scenario and, with a high degree of probability, will soon return to serve the system.
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Posted by badanov 2025-05-12 00:00||
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