Israeli police investigators from the Lahav 433 major crimes unit are scheduled to travel to Serbia this week to question Yisrael Einhorn, a former senior election campaign adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Einhorn, who has been residing in Belgrade for the past year and advising Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, is a key figure in both the “Qatargate” affair and a separate case involving leaked classified documents from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Allegations and Investigation Details
Einhorn’s questioning relates to his suspected role in the alleged theft of classified IDF documents and the leaking of one to the German daily, Bild. He, along with Jonatan Urich (a top aide to Netanyahu) and Eli Feldstein (a former spokesman), are primary suspects in this intelligence leak case.
The three are also under investigation in the ongoing Qatargate probe. Investigators are particularly interested in Einhorn’s public relations work for Qatar through his firm, Perception, which he co-managed with Urich. Hebrew media reports indicate that the two spearheaded a pro-Qatari campaign to present the Gulf state positively in the lead-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, coinciding with the probe’s timeframe.
Einhorn had previously attempted to negotiate a deal with the State Attorney’s Office to return to Israel and testify without being arrested, but those talks failed. He then requested to be interrogated in Serbia, a request initially rejected by prosecutors who preferred to either await his return to Israel or initiate extradition proceedings. However, following an apparent shift in the prosecutor’s stance, investigators are now expected to question him in Serbia.
Developments in Related Cases
Meanwhile, the State Attorney’s Office on Sunday declined to appeal a decision to ease the house arrest conditions for Eli Feldstein, who has been charged in the classified documents affair alongside reserve IDF officer Ari Rosenfeld. Last week, Judge Ala Masarwa of the Tel Aviv District Court ruled to ease Feldstein’s house arrest conditions, delaying implementation to allow for a potential Supreme Court appeal.
Furthermore, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced last week that charges would be filed, pending a hearing, against Jonatan Urich in the documents case for transmitting classified files to harm state security and destroying evidence. Urich’s lawyers have denied these allegations, which Prime Minister Netanyahu has denounced as “baseless and unfounded.”
No charges have yet been filed against any suspects in the Qatargate investigation.
