Broad Indictment Weighed in the Qatar-Gate Affair

A major development is forming in the Qatar-Gate case, with reporting by Avishai Grinzig on i24NEWS saying prosecutors are leaning toward filing a broad indictment. That expected case would reportedly include a former senior Mossad official and retired Maj. Gen. Yoav, or Puli, Mordechai.

Mordechai, 61, previously served as coordinator of government activities in the territories, head of the Civil Administration and IDF spokesperson. He has already been questioned as a suspect in the affair on suspicion of bribery and contact with a foreign agent.

According to Calcalist, Mordechai handled brokerage in large-scale Israeli defense industry weapons and cyber deals with Qatar and collected brokerage fees worth millions of shekels. The report said the prosecution plans to charge a range of suspects in the case, but no final decision has yet been made by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman.

The process follows an earlier Shin Bet opinion about damage to relations with Egypt, after which the authorities requested an additional Mossad opinion on the impact of the Qatar channel. That request came after Mossad chief David Barnea reportedly told journalists in a background briefing, later leaked, that he believed the Qatar-Gate affair had not harmed state security. The Mossad opinion was submitted in recent days and then returned to the agency for final clarifications.