Channel 13 reporter stayed in Qatari lobbyist's home

Suleiman Maswadeh, Channel 13's correspondent in the United States, rented a home last month from Jay Footlik, a Qatari lobbyist at the center of a police investigation into alleged bribery of a Netanyahu aide, according to a report by Bar Peleg and Arno Rosenfeld in Haaretz.

Maswadeh stayed in the Virginia property for two weeks and broadcast from the home's yard at least twice during that period.

Footlik is a central figure in the case in which police are investigating suspicions that Eli Feldstein, an adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu, received bribes. According to Virginia land records and filings submitted to the US Justice Department, the property where Maswadeh stayed is registered to Footlik and served as the official address of his lobbying firm, Third Circle, which has contracts with the Qatari embassy in Washington.

The arrangement raises questions given that Maswadeh was summoned about six months ago to testify to police as part of the Qatargate investigation. The probe examined materials that Feldstein passed to journalists while simultaneously serving as spokesman for Footlik's campaign in Israel.

In his testimony, Maswadeh said Feldstein approached him on security matters and presented himself as the prime minister's representative. The investigation also revealed that on one occasion Feldstein deceived Maswadeh by bringing a former Mossad employee who worked for the lobbyist into a conversation.

The suspicion and the investigation

Police suspect that Feldstein's employment by Footlik constitutes a bribe, but Footlik has not been questioned in the case because US authorities refused to permit it. However, law enforcement sources made clear that if he arrives in Israel, he will be required to appear for questioning.

As part of the investigation, the detention of Netanyahu advisers Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein was extended after the two held a confrontation over details of the investigation and gave versions that do not match. Police requested a seven-day extension of their detention over concerns about obstruction of the investigation.

Maswadeh maintains that he rented the house with full payment, that he and Potlick are longtime personal friends, and that he has never published anything related to the lobbyist's business.

Channel 13 responded to the Haaretz report by stating that Maswadeh never covered Potlick or his clients and never broadcast information on his behalf. At the same time, the news company said the reporter "erred in judgment," but emphasized that it stands behind him and fully supports his professional work, given that this was a short stay in an empty apartment belonging to a personal friend.

The affair joins a series of cases in which connections between Israeli figures and the Qatari lobbyist are being examined, against the backdrop of suspicions of bribery and promotion of foreign interests. Meanwhile, police continue to investigate the involvement of the prime minister's advisers in the case, while facing difficulties in obtaining testimony from the United States.

Potlick did not respond to the initial Haaretz report; if a response is published, we will bring it.