Cleared for publication: The two suspects who were detained for questioning in the “Qatar-Gate” affair are Yonatan Urich, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister, and Eli Feldstein, the Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson and a key suspect in the case.
The two suspects who were detained on Wednesday for questioning in the “Qatar-Gate” affair are Yonatan Urich, a senior adviser to the Prime Minister, and Eli Feldstein, the Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson and a key suspect in the case, it was cleared for publication on Friday evening.
Feldstein and Urich were interrogated at Lahav 433 on suspicion of contact with a foreign agent and money laundering, and their initial statements were taken. They were required to answer who provided them with the money and whether they truly worked for Qatar.
The two were detained on the same day that Kan Reshet Bet revealed a recording of Israeli businessman Gil Birger, in which he admitted to transferring money from a lobbyist for the Qatari government to Feldstein. The previous day, Channel 13 News reported that the lobbyist, Jay Footlik, who is employed by the Qatari government, transferred funds intended for Feldstein to Birger, who then paid Feldstein while he was working as a spokesperson in the Prime Minister’s Office.
It should be noted that the state stopped paying Feldstein’s salary in April after the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) denied him a security clearance, yet he continued working in the Prime Minister’s Office.
