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Israeli Businessman Gil Birger transferred funds from a Qatari lobbyist to a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s media team, Eli Feldstein, Birger admitted in recordings published by KAN’s Reshet Bet on Wednesday.
According to the recordings, the lobbyist, Jay Footlik, requested that Briger assist in transferring the funds to Feldstein for VAT purposes. The recordings confirm a report on Tuesday evening by Channel 13’s Baruch Kara.
According to Kara, Feldstein ceased receiving his salary from the prime minister’s office in April 2024 after failing a security background check. However, he continued working for the prime minister until October 2024, when he was arrested on charges of leaking a classified document to the German newspaper Bild on behalf of Netanyahu in order to relieve public outcry over the Hamas killing of six hostages in Rafah due to IDF proximity.
According to Kara, Feldstein’s salary was effectively paid by the Qatari government during that period while at the same time working alongside the prime minister, serving primarily as his liaison to military reporters.
Feldstein’s attorneys respond
Feldstein’s attorneys confirmed on Wednesday that he had received funds from Birger.
“The funds Feldstein received from the businessman whose recording was published were for strategy and communication services Feldstein provided to the Prime Minister’s Office, and not for Qatar,” Feldstein’s attorneys explained. “It was a temporary and partial solution by elements in Netanyahu’s office to a difficulty they encountered regarding Feldstein’s salary payment from the Prime Minister’s Office, without any impact on the identity of the service recipient—the Prime Minister,” the attorneys said.
Feldstein’s attorneys claimed that he did not know it was a service for Qatar. “As we have claimed from the moment the allegations were first raised, Feldstein has never worked for Qatar, and on political and security matters, he worked solely for the Prime Minister and his office. He did not transfer information to Qatar and never received money from them. If there is any connection between the businessman in question and other parties, including Qatar, this was not presented to Feldstein and was unknown to him,” the attorneys said.
Feldstein’s lawyers added that he was unaware of any work by fellow Netanyahu media advisor Yonatan Urich for the Qataris. Haaretz reported in November that Urich had provided public relations services to Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
“Urich is a private consultant who is not a state employee and is not employed by the Prime Minister’s Office. Therefore, he is neither appointed nor responsible for employment or personnel matters in the office, meaning he does not ‘arrange’ jobs or transfer funds to anyone. This is a false and fabricated affair with motives that are transparent and known to all. There is no offense involved, and the false leaks regarding it have tainted it from day one,” the lawyers said.
“The attempt to create an artificial conflict between Urich and Feldstein while amplifying media reports amounts to obstruction and contamination of the investigation. The flow of false leaks that began on its first day must be stopped,” they said.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in response, “Another fake news story that never happened and never existed. According to a report, the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Division in the police clarified to the Attorney General, ‘I don’t understand what offense is being investigated (regarding Qatar). This case is not progressing,’” the PMO said, referring to reports earlier this week that the police had questioned the purpose of the investigation. The Attorney-General’s Office responded at the time that the police were fully partners in the investigation and supported it.
The PMO continued, “The new fake news is a desperate attempt to invent a baseless justification for an offense that does not exist. The Prime Minister’s Office does not ‘arrange’ payments for anyone. Every payment in a government office is made in accordance with the law and through authorized officials only. Any other claim is unfounded, aiming to breathe life into yet another fabricated affair,” it concluded.
The Democrats chairman Yair Golan commented on the report in a post on X/Twitter. “The evidence that Qatari money—the same money that funded the October massacre—was used to pay Netanyahu’s advisors is an earthquake. This is not a failure; it is a suspected betrayal of the state,” he noted.
“The corrupt ties between Netanyahu and Qatar have led us to today’s harsh reality: a prolonged war, submission to foreign interests, and a situation in which Hamas still controls Gaza and tortures our brothers in captivity,” he added.
העדות לכך שכסף קטארי – אותו כסף שמימן את טבח אוקטובר – שימש למשכורות יועציו של נתניהו היא רעידת אדמה. זה לא כישלון, זהו חשד לבגידה במדינה.הקשרים המסואבים בין נתניהו לקטאר הובילו אותנו למציאות הקשה היום: למלחמה מתמשכת, לכניעה לאינטרסים זרים ולמצב שבו חמאס עדיין שולט בעזה ומענה…
— Yair Golan – יאיר גולן (@YairGolan1) March 19, 2025
Following Feldstein’s arrest in October, the prime minister’s office initially claimed it had had no connection to him. The prime minister, however, later admitted that Feldstein had worked closely alongside him and even argued that the investigation of Feldstein was part of an attempt to remove him from power.
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