Israel’s prosecution service is reportedly moving toward a broad indictment in the Qatar-Gate affair that would go beyond the people already investigated over an influence campaign on Qatar’s behalf from the Prime Minister’s Office. According to a report by Avishai Grinzig on i24NEWS, the case could also include a former senior Mossad official and reserve Maj. Gen. Yossi “Poley” Mordechai.
The report says that after the Shin Bet submitted an opinion on the damage caused to Israel’s foreign relations with Egypt, prosecutors asked the Mossad for a separate assessment of the affair’s impact on the relationship with Qatar. The request reportedly followed comments by Mossad chief David Barnea in a background briefing with journalists, later leaked, in which he said Qatar-Gate did not harm Israel’s national security.
The Mossad’s opinion was delivered to the prosecution in recent days, then returned for final clarifications and corrections. One option under consideration is a narrower indictment focused only on the influence campaign aimed at the Israeli public through journalists.
That narrower track centers on Jonathan Urich, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s adviser, Eli Feldstein, his former adviser, and Israel Einhorn, a former adviser close to the office. A broader indictment, by contrast, would also include figures tied to the parallel “Lighthouse” affair, revealed by Bar Peleg in Haaretz, including Mordechai and the former senior Mossad official.
According to the report, the current inclination is toward a broad indictment, but no final decision has yet been made by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Prosecutor Amit Aisman.
