Yonatan Urich, a senior aide and personal media adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to have admitted to accepting hundreds of thousands of shekels from Qatar to improve the Gulf State's reputation, even months after the October 7 massacre, N12 News reported on Monday.
According to N12, Urich, during his interrogation and investigation in connection with the Qatargate scandal, said that he may have worked with Qatar until at least the middle of 2024, claiming that he does not fully recall the timeline of events. However, he said that he did not work with them in Israel after October 7, 2023.
"There is a vast difference between what happens abroad and what happens in Israel," Urich said, explaining that he did not inform Netanyahu of his activities. "As an external consultant, I was never required to make a full disclosure; the World Cup project did not prevent me from criticizing Qatar from Israel."
Urich denied having received money from Qatar after the October 7 massacre.
He also derided the news site in a post on X/Twitter after N12's report, saying the outlet no longer published hard-hitting news, and downplaying the importance of the report as lacking in news value.
Bennett, Golan call out Urich for taking money from Qatar
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Democrats party chairman Yair Golan both condemned Urich after N12's report.
Bennett called the affair "The most serious case of treason in the history of the State of Israel," and demanded that Netanyahu inform Israel of the exact nature of his relationship with Qatar.
Golan called out Urich for not expressing remorse over his actions, and called for Netanyahu's ties to Qatar to be investigated.
"On 27/10 [Election Day], we boot the Qataris out of the Prime Minister's Office, and establish a state inquiry committee that no one can evade," Golan promised.
Last week, N12 reported that Urich met with senior Qatari official Ali al-Thawadi at least twice in July 2024.
One of the meetings with Thawadi, described by N12 as one of Qatar’s most powerful figures and a close associate of its emir, reportedly included Urich’s business partner, Yisrael “Srulik” Einhorn, and lobbyist Jay Footlik, whom Urich has previously denied knowing or meeting.
Shir Perets contributed to this report.