Attorney General expected to rule: 'Qatargate' charges will include security offenses

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is expected to rule that the indictment in the 'Qatargate' affair will include security offenses. This was revealed this evening (Tuesday) in the main news edition.

Baharav-Miara is expected to decide that indictments will be filed against Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein for security offenses, and an indictment subject to a hearing is also expected against a former senior Mossad official suspected in the affair. It should be noted that the final opinion of the Shin Bet and the Mossad on the matter has not yet been submitted, but the Ministry of Justice believes: "There is enough evidence for the security clause — contact with a foreign agent."

About two months ago, Channel 13 reported that the opinion determining whether to prosecute the Prime Minister's Office staff — Yonatan Urich, Eli Feldstein, and Srulik Einhorn — for security offenses is actually that of the Mossad.

Mossad Director Roman Gofman, who was the military secretary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, may be in a conflict of interest due to his closeness to the suspects. The Attorney General's Office and the Prime Minister's Office are checking whether, because of this, he is prevented from signing the opinion. The Mossad stated that "the issue is being checked by the organization's legal advisor."

There is a deep contradiction between the versions of Netanyahu and Urich regarding the 'Qatargate' affair and the leak of classified documents to 'Bild', concerning the way spokespersons work in the Prime Minister's Office. The gap between the versions concerns the central question in the case: who gave the instructions — and whether Eli Feldstein's actions were with the Prime Minister's knowledge.

In his testimony, Netanyahu sought to distance himself from the professional connection to the Qatar contact affair:

"He cannot say that he worked with me personally, it is simply not true," Netanyahu said, adding with bewilderment regarding Feldstein: "Do you know what it is to be a person who was nothing?"

Conversely, the testimony of his close advisor Urich presents a completely opposite picture. Urich testified that there is a direct and binding line between the spokespersons and the Prime Minister himself:

"Spokespersons work directly with the PM, every message requires his approval."

This testimony constitutes a critical layer as it attributes to Netanyahu active involvement in approving content that comes out of the office.

About two weeks ago, the prosecution announced an amendment to the indictment filed against Eli Feldstein and reservist Ari Rosenfeld for stealing secret and sensitive information from Aman systems and publishing it in 'Bild', and added Urich to the amended indictment. Urich is charged with offenses of transmitting secret information with the intent to harm state security, holding secret information, and destroying evidence.