Israel Police issued on Wednesday an arrest warrant for Jay Footlik, the American lobbyist for Qatar, in connection with his alleged role in the Qatari stream of money to Israeli figures close to the prime minister, particularly during the duration of the Israel-Hamas War, ongoing for nearly two years now.
The warrant will be activated if Footlik ever arrives in Israel, and followed failed requests by Israeli investigators to American authorities to question him.
Allegedly, Footlik paid, circuitously and through a third party, the salary of Eli Feldstein, the former military spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, and a chief suspect in what has been colloquially called the “Qatargate” affair.
Authorities are investigating whether and to what extent employees in the PMO and close to Netanyahu advanced plans favorable to Qatar, especially as the Gulf state serves as a regional sponsor of terrorist groups, and is considered close to Hamas, as it has been one of the mediator states in the Israel-Hamas Gaza ceasefire and hostage negotiations.
Per the suspicions, Feldstein pushed Qatari public relations messages to Israeli journalists, presented as sourced in intelligence, when really they served to improve Qatar's public image in the view of the Israeli public.
Feldstein allegedly leaked classified military documents to the German tabloid Bild after permission for their publication was denied by the Israeli military censor. The documents were eventually published, allegedly to sway public opinion on the hostage negotiations - at the reported behest of Qatar.
This was around August 2024, when six hostages were killed by their Hamas captors in a tunnel: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarusi, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, and Alex Lobanov.
The Qatargate affair
Alongside Feldstein, authorities have probed Yonatan Urich and Israel Einhorn, both senior aides to the prime minister.
In the past, Footlik and Einhorn reportedly worked together on campaigns for the Gulf state.
Footlik's defense team said in response that he continues to work day and night to aid the hostage families in bringing their loved ones home. Hamas kidnapped 251 people, mostly civilians, on October 7, of whom it continues to hold 50 as bargaining chips in the talks.
Earlier on Wednesday, opposition head Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) provided an open testimony on Qatargate at the police's request. He explained to investigators the operational behaviors of the Prime Minister's Office, how it works in normal times. He was questioned as well on the severity of the allegations that employees in the PMO simultaneously collected paychecks from a different state.
Lapid served as prime minister in 2022.
Last week, sources familiar with the topic told Walla that talks have been taking place over the past few weeks between Feldstein and prosecutors regarding the possibility of him becoming a state's witness in the case.
Per reports, Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen (Likud) provided open testimony to police on Qatargate on Wednesday evening.