Yonatan Urich, one of the main suspects on the “Qatargate” case and an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was released on Monday by Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court Judge Menahem Mizrahi to 10 days of house arrest.
Israel Police originally requested that it be for three weeks. The request was also set to be extended to the unnamed former Mossad official, who was also questioned about the case.
The detention of the two was extended on Thursday until Monday, after Urich's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court for what they said was an unlawful extent of arrest.
At the hearing by Mizrahi on Monday, Urich's defense attorney Amit Hadad asked, “This is what you hold a man for for five days? Under conditions of a security prisoner, in full solitary confinement? Why walk him through the seven stages of hell?”
“When we appealed to the Supreme Court, they said, ‘You'll understand soon why this was important [to keep Urich detained], soon the full picture will be clarified.’ We saw everything, there was nothing new, and this was completely useless,” he added.
Mizrahi, in an unusual comment, said that he doesn't think that there will come a day when an indictment will be issued.
Urich, along with former Prime Minister’s Office military spokesman Eli Feldstein, were investigated for alleged Qatari connections and influences on figures close to the prime minister, in efforts by the Gulf state to improve its image. This allegedly happened in connection with the World Cup in 2022, which Qatar hosted, but in relation to Israel, it had to do with tips given to journalists that were presented as being sourced from intelligence figures, when in reality, they were sourced in Qatar. This was allegedly done to boost Qatar’s image in its role as media in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal agreements, and to downplay that of Egypt’s.
Qatar denied any action of the sort. The case is still under investigation.
The other related case is the “leaked documents affair,” in which Feldstein was investigated for allegedly leaking classified military documents to the German daily Bild, after they failed publication by the Israeli military censor. The documents were publicized, allegedly in an effort to sway public opinion on the hostage negotiations.