Smotrich: PM’s Aides Who Worked for Qatar Should Face Prison

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Thursday that any employees in the Prime Minister’s Office who worked on behalf of Qatar during the war should be sent to prison for many years, becoming the latest senior coalition figure to back the Shin Bet investigation into the growing “Qatargate” scandal.

Speaking at a conference organized by the Makor Rishon newspaper, Smotrich called the affair “a complete madness” and said Qatar should be viewed as a hostile state that supports terrorism. “If there are corrupt people inside the Prime Minister’s Office who, during a war, worked for Qatar, they should be pilloried and sit behind bars for many years,” he said.

Smotrich emphasized that his remarks did not implicate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally. He said Netanyahu had acted throughout the war “only with relevant considerations” and entirely for the security and future of the State of Israel. Still, Smotrich acknowledged that if questionable figures managed to infiltrate the Prime Minister’s Office, “it’s very serious and must be thoroughly investigated.”

The investigation centers on allegations that Eli Feldstein, a former media adviser to Netanyahu, and senior aide Jonathan Urich worked on behalf of Qatar through a public relations firm while employed in the Prime Minister’s Office. The firm is said to have promoted Qatar’s image in Israel and abroad, including its role as a mediator in hostage negotiations. Feldstein has denied wrongdoing and is already facing charges in a separate case involving the alleged leak of classified information to a German newspaper.

Smotrich said he never met Feldstein during the war and stressed that anyone who worked for an enemy state at such a time committed an act that was “despicable beyond words.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also weighed in, warning that the recent resignation of the Shin Bet’s deputy head could jeopardize the investigation. Lapid said the deputy had been overseeing the Qatargate probe and expressed concern that his replacement could be pressured to shut it down.

Lapid noted that when Shin Bet chief David Zini was appointed earlier this year, Netanyahu pledged that Zini would not interfere in the Qatargate investigation, a commitment later reinforced by a High Court order. “This investigation must continue without political interference,” Lapid said.

While Netanyahu has dismissed the scandal as a witch hunt and denied the allegations against his aides, the past several days have seen growing support within the coalition for a full security probe. With senior ministers now publicly backing the investigation, pressure is mounting for transparency and accountability at the highest levels of government.