Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett has called on the current premier Binyamin Netanyahu to resign, accusing him of engaging in the cover-up of the so-called Qatargate affair, which he called “the most serious act of treason in Israeli history”.
The affair involves allegations that Mr Netanyahu’s top aides were acting as paid lobbyists for Qatar, where Hamas’s leadership is based, while simultaneously working in the prime minister’s office (PMO).
“Netanyahu’s office betrayed the state of Israel and Israel Defence Force soldiers during wartime and acted on behalf of Qatar for financial gain, and Netanyahu himself is covering it up,” Mr Bennett claimed in a statement. “Whether Netanyahu knew or did not know that his office was working for the enemy in a time of war, both possibilities require his immediate resignation.”
Mr Bennett, who will head a new centre-right party in next year’s election, pledged to establish a state commission of inquiry “that will also investigate aid to an enemy state in a time of war” if he is elected as Israel’s next prime minister.
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His criticism of Mr Netanyahu was echoed by other opposition politicians.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid called the scandal “the most serious treason affair in the history of the country”, while the chair of the left-wing party The Democrats, Yair Golan, said: “Netanyahu’s office betrayed the country’s security in the Qatar affair, and Netanyahu must be fully investigated over it.”
The calls came after Israeli media revealed new details linked to the Qatargate affair.
One television report leaked correspondence between three of Mr Netanyahu’s associates, indicating they served as paid agents of Qatar at the height of the recent Gaza war, which, according to Mr Bennett, helps explain Israel’s failure to destroy Hamas.
The aides were reportedly behind dozens of articles and tweets that promoted the narrative that Qatar was essential to mediating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and for the return of the hostages, while diminishing the role that Egypt could play as a mediator.
The three aides also devised an “influence campaign” to soften the Gulf nation’s global image ahead of the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, aired an interview on Monday night with one of the three aides, Eli Feldstein, Mr Netanyahu’s former spokesperson. Mr Feldstein was hired despite lacking the necessary security clearance. He admitted that he was paid indirectly, via Qatar, instead of receiving a salary from the prime minister’s office.
On Tuesday, following the interview, the October Council, a group representing relatives of victims and survivors of Hamas’s October 7th, 2023 attack, appealed to the head of the Israel security agency Shin Bet, for an urgent investigation into “suspected treason” within the PMO.
“Last night, an interview was published with an advisor in the PMO, raising a reasonable suspicion of treason by PMO officials, which manifested in an influence campaign benefiting the Qatari government, which, as you know, financed the terrorist organisation Hamas,” the families wrote to Shin Bet chief David Zini.
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The families also cited Mr Feldstein’s claim that Mr Netanyahu instructed his aides to act to absolve him of responsibility for the October 7th attack. “The government refuses to establish a genuine state investigation committee and instead seeks to form a political committee to cover up the truth so it may never be revealed,” the group said.
The PMO issued a statement accusing Mr Feldstein of fabricating claims against Mr Netanyahu. “The claims were made by an individual clearly motivated by a desire to deflect blame as he faces charges that can carry a life sentence in prison over the transfer of classified intelligence,” the statement read.
