Opposition leader Yair Lapid and former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yonatan Urich, sparred on Thursday over reported foreign funding in a heated exchange on X/Twitter.
The dispute focused on Urich's alleged involvement in the 'Qatargate' case and included claims that Urich accepted payments from Qatar, an Arab country that supports Hamas, while he was working in the Prime Minister’s Office.
“It cannot be that Netanyahu told the police that there was nothing wrong with his closest aide receiving money from an Arab country that backs Hamas while working for him in the bureau,” Lapid wrote. “He is not qualified to lead the State of Israel," he stated regarding Netanyahu.
Urich responded sharply: “Do you want to start your meetings with the Qataris now, or should we wait until you realize you have a ton of butter on your head? Let me know. You are not qualified to run a Knesset House Committee. Move on.”
Lapid replied that he met “once” with a Qatari minister, in full transparency and alongside families of Israeli hostages, and that the meeting was public knowledge at the time.
Lapid challenges allegations against Urich
He went on to challenge Urich directly, “How much money did you receive? For what? How do you explain that a Muslim country that supports terrorism was paying you while you were working in Netanyahu’s inner circle? Did he know? If not, why not? Why did you leak classified documents? Did Netanyahu authorize it?”
Lapid added, “I ran the State of Israel, and I did it better than your boss. In my office, no one accepted bribes or foreign money.”
Urich concluded the confrontation by saying, “You were a failed prime minister alongside [Naftali] Bennett for 181 days. You formed Israel’s first government with the Muslim Brotherhood and allocated them massive budgets at our expense. You met with Qatar—who you met with, and why, will be revealed in due time. Wait patiently.”