Qatargate: Israel Police request extension to Yonatan Urich's detention terms
Israel Police requested on Sunday that the relaxed arrest conditions of Yonatan Urich, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and one of the main suspects in the 'Qatargate' investigations, be extended for another month.
Urich's detention terms expired on Sunday – that he was required to appear for questioning if called, that he was forbidden from leaving the country until August 12, and that he could not contact anyone involved with the case. He was released to 10 days of house arrest on May 12.
On May 21, Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court Judge Menahem Mizrahi terminated his house arrest but ruled that Urich would still be under surveillance, where he would be allowed to walk freely with someone who had signed as a guarantor for him until June 1.
Mizrahi requested on Sunday that police resubmit the request and that the position of Urich's lawyer, Amit Hadad, be submitted as well; only after that would a hearing be scheduled. Hadad completely opposed banning Urich from leaving the country and contacting those who investigators deem 'close to the case.'
He also noted that the police's intent to extend Urich's conditions was only made known to him on Sunday, despite the deadline on the detention terms being known from May. He added that the extension request is 'extremely laconic' and doesn't provide specific reasons for extending it.
Why is Yonatan Urich being investigated?
Urich and former Prime Minister's Office military spokesman Eli Feldstein are two of the main suspects in Qatargate. They 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.
In the more current context, this was reportedly done to boost Qatar's image in its mediator role in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal negotiations and to downplay Egypt's involvement. Yisrael Einhorn, another of Netanyahu's close advisers, was questioned last month from where he resides in Serbia. He is suspected of fraudulently receiving money from Qatar as part of the public relations campaign.
Urich was arrested on March 30 and was detained until April 7, after which the fight for extensions and terms began. He is suspected of contact with a foreign agent, bribery, fraud, breach of trust, and money laundering. Hadad noted that since his arrest in March, he had not been in touch with anyone connected to the case – which includes a wildly extensive list, he said – and 'there is no indication of tampering on Urich's end.'
He added that the order to not contact anyone from the Prime Minister's Office or any staff from Perception – the company allegedly at the center of the Qatargate affairs – is 'dramatic, draconic, and damaging,' as it meant that Urich has been unable to work and provide for himself for nearly six months now.
The court decided that the hearing will take place on Thursday afternoon and that Urich's conditions are to remain as they are until then.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
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Politico
10 hours ago
- Politico
What William Bennett is doing for Qatar
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Yahoo
2 days ago
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Israel strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in an attack condemned by journalists and rights groups. Israel's military said it targeted and killed Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas militant cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel. Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government, rejected the assertion, and before his death Al Sharif had also denied such claims by Israel. "Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world," Al Jazeera said. Al Sharif, 28, was among a group of four Al Jazeera journalists and an assistant who died in an airstrike on a tent near Al Shifa Hospital in eastern Gaza City, Gaza officials and Al Jazeera said. A hospital official said two other people died. A sixth journalist, local freelance reporter Mohammad Al-Khaldi, was also killed in the strike, medics at Al Shifa Hospital said on Monday. Calling Al Sharif "one of Gaza's bravest journalists", Al Jazeera said the attack was a "desperate attempt to silence voices in anticipation of the occupation of Gaza". The other journalists killed were Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal, Al Jazeera said. "The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination," Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said on X. The U.N. human rights office condemned the killings, saying the actions by Israel's military represented a "grave breach of international humanitarian law" as Palestinians reported the heaviest bombardments in weeks. Its post on social media platform X was accompanied by a photograph of flattened blue tents next to a bullet-ridden wall in Gaza City. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is "gravely concerned" about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, his spokesperson said. The Israeli military said in a statement that Al Sharif led a Hamas cell and "was responsible for advancing rocket attacks against Israeli civilians" and Israeli troops, citing intelligence and documents it said were discovered in Gaza as evidence but which it did not disclose. Israel denies deliberately targeting journalists, saying many of those killed in Israeli airstrikes were members of Islamist militant groups, working under the guise of the press. Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted undated photos on X that appeared to show Al Sharif with Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Hamas October 2023 attack on Israel, and other Hamas officials. Reuters could not verify their authenticity. It was not clear when the purported images were taken nor how the military acquired them. Adraee wrote that only a "terrorist" would be seen with Hamas officials, without providing any context as to why Al Sharif, a journalist, had allegedly met them. People gathered at Sheikh Radwan Cemetery in the heart of the Gaza Strip on Monday to mourn the journalists. Friends, colleagues and relatives consoled each another, many wiping away tears as they bid farewell. Al Sharif was previously part of a Reuters team which in 2024 won a Pulitzer Prize in the category of Breaking News Photography for coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. The war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza is the deadliest on record for journalists, according to the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs' Costs of War project. The Hamas-run Gaza government media office said 238 journalists have been killed since the war started on October 7, 2023. The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 186 journalists have been killed in the Gaza conflict. A press freedom group and a United Nations expert previously warned that Al Sharif's life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. U.N. Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said last month that Israel's claims against him were unsubstantiated. PRE-RECORDED MESSAGE Al Jazeera said Al Sharif had left a social media message to be posted in the event of his death that read, "...I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent". Israel's military had named Al Sharif in October as one of six Gaza journalists it alleged were members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, citing documents it said showed lists of people who completed training courses and salaries. 'Al Jazeera categorically rejects the Israeli occupation forces' portrayal of our journalists as terrorists and denounces their use of fabricated evidence,' the network said in a statement at the time. The Committee to Protect Journalists, which in July urged the international community to protect Al Sharif, said in a statement that Israel had failed to provide any evidence to back up its allegations against him. Al Sharif, whose X account showed more than 500,000 followers, posted on the platform minutes before his death that Israel had been intensely bombarding Gaza City for more than two hours. Palestinian militant group Hamas, which runs Gaza, said the killing may signal the start of an Israeli offensive. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will launch a new offensive to dismantle Hamas strongholds in Gaza, where a hunger crisis is escalating after 22 months of war. "The assassination of journalists and the intimidation of those who remain pave the way for a major crime that the occupation is planning to commit in Gaza City," Hamas said in a statement.
Time Magazine
2 days ago
- Time Magazine
Anas al-Sharif's Last Words Before Israeli Strike Killed Him
Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Sunday, alongside four of his colleagues. Before his death, the 28-year-old had prepared a final message to be released posthumously. 'This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice,' he wrote in a message shared Sunday. 'I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification,' it continued. 'Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance,' it said. Al-Sharif leaves behind a wife and two young children. In a statement announcing the killing of al-Sharif, the IDF said he was the 'head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.' It shared images of what it claimed was a Hamas roster list and injury record with his name on both. TIME has not been able to independently verify these claims. Al Jazeera condemned the killings, calling the attack a 'targeted assassination' and a 'blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom.' 'Anas and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza, providing the world with unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage of the devastating realities endured by its people,' the Qatari network said in a statement. Al-Sharif had faced threats and allegations of ties to Hamas from the Israeli army for nearly a year before his death, but they intensified following a broadcast in July in which he broke down crying while reporting on Gaza's hunger crisis. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Avichay Adraee accused him of crying 'crocodile tears' and of being part of a 'false Hamas campaign on starvation.' Al Jazeera rejected the claims as 'baseless'. The Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ) issued a statement describing Adraee's statements as 'unfounded accusations [that] represent an effort to manufacture consent to kill al-Sharif,' and noted that Israel had killed four other Al Jazeera journalists about whom they had made similar statements. In messages sent to TIME in late July, during reporting for a separate story, al-Sharif said the IDF's allegations left him infear for his life. 'I live with the feeling that I could be bombed and martyred at any moment,' he wrote in one message. 'These threats are clear incitement and an attempt to assassinate my voice, either through bombing or moral distortion,' he added. Al-Sharif, who had covered the war from the first days of the conflict, told TIME how he had received direct calls from Israeli military officers demanding that he stop his coverage and leave northern Gaza. He also received WhatsApp messages that detailed his precise whereabouts, which he considered a threat to his life. TIME has contacted an IDF spokesperson for comment. Deadliest conflict for journalists ever recorded The airstrike that killed him struck a tent being used by media near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. It also killed Al Jazeera staff members Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Al Thaher, Moamen Aliwa, and Mohamed Nofal, as well as freelance journalist Mohammad al-Khaldi. Their deaths brought the total number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023, to 186—180 of those journalists being Palestinian, according to the International Federation of Journalists. Hundreds gathered at the Sheikh Radwan cemetery in the Gaza Strip to mourn the five journalists on Monday. The airstrike came just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended a planned military offensive into some of Gaza's most populated areas, including Gaza City, where the team was based. CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah accused Israel of 'murdering the messengers,' in a statement condemning the strike. 'Israel wiped out an entire news crew. It has made no claims that any of the other journalists were terrorists. That's murder. Plain and simple,' she said. 'It is no coincidence that the smears against al-Sharif — who has reported night and day for Al Jazeera since the start of the war — surfaced every time he reported on a major development in the war, most recently the starvation brought about by Israel's refusal to allow sufficient aid into the territory,' Qudah added. The CPJ has previously called the Gaza war the 'deadliest conflict for journalists ever documented.' Reporting on hunger Al-Sharif was a mainstay of Al Jazeera's rolling coverage of the Gaza war and one of its best known correspondents. In the video about starvation that drew the condemnation of the IDF, al-Sharif cries as a woman collapses from hunger behind him. 'They need only one meal. They need one loaf of bread. They need one sip of water,' he said, his voice breaking. Nearly 200 people have died from malnutrition in Gaza, including at least 96 children, according to Gaza's health ministry. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC)'s latest update concluded that 'mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths,' and famine thresholds have been met for food consumption across most of Gaza. In his last video, al-Sharif reported on heavy airstrikes nearby. On the broadcast, he can he heard saying: 'Nonstop bombing… For the past two hours, the Israeli aggression on Gaza City has intensified.' After October 2023, Israel prohibited foreign journalists from entering Gaza. In the absence of international reporters, much of the reporting on the war has fallen to Palestinian journalists on the ground, often risking their own lives and safety in the process. Reporting from the frontlines, they have faced the same losses and destruction as the communities they document, including the destruction of their homes and the deaths of loved ones. Al-Sharif's father, Jamal al-Sharif, was killed in a strike in December 2023 while he was praying, according to messages al-Sharif sent TIME in July. Due to the ongoing shelling, he was forced to bury his father in a schoolyard because he could not reach the cemetery safely. While on-air in October 2024, he found out about the deaths of his own relatives while reporting for Al Jazeera. The Israel-Hamas war was triggered after Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which the group killed over 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages. Over 61,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. In the absence of independent monitoring on the ground, the ministry is the primary source for casualty data relied upon by humanitarian groups, journalists, and international bodies. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be independently verified by TIME.
