Jerusalem, Feb 28 Israel's Attorney General has ordered a criminal investigation into the allegedly suspicious ties between officials with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and Qatar.
Qatar has played a key role in mediating between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of Israeli hostages, Xinhua news agency reported.
However, Qatar and Israel currently do not have formal diplomatic relations.
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said on Thursday in a press release that the investigation would be carried out by the police and the Shin Bet domestic security agency.
The decision to launch the investigation followed a Shin Bet probe into contacts between senior officials in Netanyahu's office and Qatar, as well as concerns over the potential compromise of sensitive information.
Baharav-Miara said her decision was based on findings from the probe presented to her at a meeting earlier in the day, which detailed "connections between individuals operating within the Prime Minister's Office and entities linked to the State of Qatar".
The announcement came after a series of investigative reports in local media revealed alleged business ties between Qatar and Netanyahu's advisers Yonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn, as well as his former spokesman Eli Feldstein.
In November 2024, Feldstein was charged with leaking classified documents to media outlets in the hope of derailing a hostage deal with Hamas.
The Attorney General’s Office made the announcement in the wake of revelations that Feldstein, who has been charged with harming national security in a case involving the theft and leaking of classified IDF documents, worked for Qatar via an international firm contracted by Doha to feed top Israeli journalists pro-Qatar stories.
The Attorney General's Office said the decision was made following a meeting between Baharav-Miara, State Attorney Amit Aisman, the head of the police’s investigations and intelligence department, and professional officials in the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service.
In that meeting, "information was presented as to the connection between elements working in the Prime Minister's Office and elements connected to the state of Qatar," the Attorney General's Office said.
The investigation will be carried out by the Shin Bet and the police.
--IANS
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