Yonatan Urich Admits Accepting Qatari Funds
Based on a Monday N12 News report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal media adviser and senior aide Yonatan Urich seemingly acknowledged taking hundreds of thousands of shekels from Qatar in order to polish the Gulf nation’s image.
How Netanyahu, Eisenkot, Bennett, and Golan compare on Gaza, West Bank security, the ultra-Orthodox military draft, and future Knesset coalitions.https://t.co/XROuSU4ypc
During his interrogation in the Qatargate scandal, Urich stated that he may have worked with Qatar until at least the middle of 2024, though he noted he does not fully recall the timeline of events. He maintained 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 during the investigation, 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.
Political Reactions to the Qatargate Investigation
The N12 report triggered sharp denunciations from Israeli political figures. Former prime minister Naftali Bennett characterized the affair as 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.
Democrats party chairman Yair Golan also condemned Urich for not expressing remorse over his actions. Urging an investigation into Netanyahu’s connections with Qatar, Golan declared that on 27/10 [Election Day] they would clear the Qataris out of the Prime Minister’s Office and set up an inescapable state inquiry committee.
Taking to X/Twitter after the publication, Urich mocked the news organization, claiming it had ceased producing serious journalism and dismissing the story as trivial and devoid of actual news value.
External Consultations and Associated Figures
According to N12, a gathering involving Thawadi—noted as a close confidant of the Qatari emir and one of the nation’s most influential figures—also featured Urich’s business associate Yisrael “Srulik” Einhorn alongside lobbyist Jay Footlik, an individual Urich had previously claimed he neither knew nor had met.
Worth a look