New details have emerged about the alleged role of Israeli political strategist Yisrael “Srulik” Einhorn, known in Serbia as a former adviser to President Aleksandar Vučić, in the “Qatargate” affair involving the transfer of sensitive Israeli security information to Qatar.
According to Israel Hayom, a source from Israel’s security establishment claims that advisers to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — Einhorn, Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein — passed confidential information from security discussions concerning Egypt to Qatar.
The new account would significantly alter the direction of information previously assumed by investigators. Rather than Qatar supplying information to Netanyahu’s advisers, the source claims that sensitive material flowed in the opposite direction — from Israel’s national security system to Qatar and eventually to Israeli media.
The information allegedly concerned Egypt’s compliance with its peace treaty with Israel, particularly the deployment of Egyptian forces in the Sinai Peninsula. Qatar allegedly sought to use the material to promote damaging claims about Egypt in the Israeli media and increase its influence over negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
According to the source, the operation was designed to allow allegations against Egypt to reach Israeli journalists through Netanyahu’s advisers. This, in turn, could have strengthened Qatar’s position in negotiations in which Doha and Cairo were both acting as mediators.
Israeli military officials reportedly became concerned that the allegations could damage relations between Jerusalem and Cairo, potentially undermining the peace treaty and reducing Egypt’s willingness to assist in hostage-release efforts.
The claims also raise questions about an earlier public accusation against Egypt made by Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, who alleged that Cairo was violating its peace agreement with Israel. Those allegations were later found to be inaccurate, prompting questions about whether misleading information had deliberately been provided to the ambassador.
According to Israel Hayom’s source, the material used to portray Egypt negatively did not come from publicly available information or from material already provided to Netanyahu. Instead, it allegedly originated in highly confidential discussions involving the highest levels of Israel’s national security establishment.
Several such meetings reportedly took place during the spring of 2024 and afterward, involving representatives of the Shin Bet, the Israel Defense Forces, the National Security Council and Netanyahu himself.
The discussions focused in part on whether Egypt was violating its peace treaty with Israel, particularly regarding the deployment of forces in Sinai, an issue requiring authorization from Israel’s prime minister, defense minister and military chief.
A second security source who participated in the meetings reportedly confirmed that discussions concerning Egypt took place during the period described by the first source. The source also said the issue of Egypt’s alleged violations was raised during the meetings and that Qatar subsequently attempted to place the issue at the center of Israeli media coverage.
The source further claimed that, even at the time, there was a perception among some officials that the allegations against Egypt were being artificially amplified beyond what would normally be expected in a professional security assessment.
The central allegation in the Qatargate investigation has previously been that Einhorn, Urich and Feldstein helped transmit messages to journalists while presenting them as coming from a “diplomatic source,” when the information allegedly originated in Qatar.
The latest claims would instead suggest that sensitive information originating within Israel’s security system was transferred to Qatar before being used in an influence campaign targeting Israeli public opinion and media coverage.
The lawyers representing Einhorn and Urich have denied the allegations reported by Israel Hayom. Einhorn’s lawyer has also disputed the characterization of Einhorn as a Netanyahu adviser, arguing that he never served as an adviser or worked in the prime minister’s office.
Einhorn has previously attracted significant scrutiny in both Israel and Serbia. According to earlier reporting by BIRN and Haaretz, he operated a company in Serbia and was involved in political consulting and communications work connected to Vučić.
BIRN previously reported that Einhorn helped organize high-level meetings linked to the beginning of Serbian ammunition exports to Israel through Montenegro. He also reportedly worked for Vučić from at least 2020 on efforts to improve the Serbian president’s image in Western countries, particularly in the United States.
The latest allegations add another layer to an affair that has already raised questions about the intersection of political advisers, foreign influence, sensitive security information and media operations at the highest levels of Israeli politics.
