Police have issued an arrest warrant for US lobbyist Jay Footlik in connection with suspicions related to his role in the so-called Qatargate scandal, in which aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are accused of lobbying on behalf of Qatar while in the premier’s employ.
Footlik, a paid advocate for Qatar, is thought to have funneled money to Netanyahu spokesperson Jonatan Urich to do work for Doha. He is also suspected of paying money to Eli Feldstein, then Netanyahu’s military affairs spokesman, via an Israeli businessman based in the Gulf.
According to the Ynet news, the arrest warrant was issued after the Israel Police appealed to Interpol regarding the matter. In practice, the warrant means that Footlik will face immediate arrest should he ever set foot in Israel.
There was no immediate confirmation of the warrant from police, who want to question Footlik over his role in the case, but have been unable to secure cooperation from the US Justice Department on the matter.
“This appears to be a decision whose sole purpose is to apply pressure and derived from considerations unrelated to reaching the truth of the matter,” Footlik’s Israeli lawyers told the Haaretz daily in response to Wednesday’s reports on the warrant.
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Efforts to coordinate an inquiry into Footlik alongside Washington were nixed by the Justice Department in early July without explanation, Hebrew outlets reported at the time.
News of the warrant came hours after police took testimony from Opposition Leader Yair Lapid regarding the ongoing probe. The politician was reportedly asked about the functioning of the Prime Minister’s Office and a meeting with a Qatari official that he attended together with families of hostages held by terror groups in Gaza.
Haaretz reported that the Paris meeting was organized by Footlik.
The Qatargate affair revolves primarily around allegations that Urich and Feldstein worked for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm while simultaneously working for the prime minister. They are suspected of committing multiple offenses tied to the alleged dual employment, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen.
From left: Jonatan Urich, Eli Feldstein, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Composite: Flash90)
Both deny wrongdoing. Urich, who was previously under house arrest, was cleared earlier this month to once again meet and work with Netanyahu. Feldstein, meanwhile, has been in discussions about becoming a state witness in the case, Walla reported. Earlier this week, the government suspended a member of the team negotiating a ceasefire in Gaza following testimony he gave to police in connection with the case.
Another key suspect in the case is Yisrael Einhorn, a Serbia-based former campaign adviser to Netanyahu, who together with Urich spearheaded a pro-Qatari public relations campaign to cast the Gulf state in a positive light ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, hosted in Doha. Like Urich, Einhorn also reportedly continued his PR work for Qatar well into the Israel-Hamas war that was sparked by the October 7, 2023, onslaught by the Palestinian terror group.
Responding to a report earlier this month on his role in crafting pro-Qatar messages that were sent to Netanyahu’s top aides to give to the media to improve Doha’s image in Israel, Einhorn stated that he, Feldstein and Footlik had “sought to share the truth with the Israeli public — even when it was uncomfortable.
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