Bennett: Netanyahu aides who ‘served the enemy’ in Qatargate deserve life sentence |
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett claimed on Tuesday that the suspects in the Qatargate scandal deserve a life sentence for having “maliciously sabotaged” Israel’s ties with Egypt while promoting the image of Qatar, which Bennett branded an “enemy.”
The comments, made in a social media video, were Bennett’s latest volley of harsh rhetoric about the scandal, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s senior aide Jonathan Urich and former spokesperson Eli Feldstein are accused of working as paid lobbyists on behalf of Doha while in the premier’s employ.
The allegations are particularly explosive because Hamas’s leadership is based in Qatar, which alongside Egypt has acted as a mediator in negotiations over the Gaza war and the current ceasefire.
Bennett is running against Netanyahu in next year’s elections. Figures across the political spectrum have called for consequences in the Qatargate case following a wave of bombshell media reports about it.
“Now all of the people of Israel know: From the materials that have been uncovered, it has clearly emerged that Netanyahu’s people not only received a salary from Qatar in order to whitewash Qatar/Hamas, but they also took advantage of their special position in the [Prime Minister’s] Office to tar........