An Israeli court on Tuesday issued a "gag order" on the investigation into the alleged links between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and individuals connected to the Qatari government, according to the daily Haaretz.

This judicial decision is aimed at prohibiting the public dissemination of information on an ongoing affair. It was reportedly taken following a request from the Israeli police amid various investigations involving the Israeli prime minister and his entourage as part of the BibiLeaks affair, a political and judicial scandal triggered by a leak of confidential military information to the German newspaper Bild last November.

These suspicions of collusion between Benjamin Netanyahu and the gas emirate emerged following an investigation by Haaretz on a promotional campaign aimed at rehabilitating Qatar's international image, allegedly organized by two communication advisers to the prime minister. In the wake of these revelations, the Israeli opposition newspaper faced sanctions from the Israeli government, which ended all state-funded subsidies and advertising revenues.

Financing of Hamas

The two advisers in question, Yonatan Urich and Israel Einhorn, are said to have conducted this campaign before the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar through their company "Perception." This campaign conveyed a message that the emirate "does not finance terrorism" and "collaborates with many nations and invests resources to bring peace and stability to conflict areas." At the time, Netanyahu was the opposition leader, while Urich had become the spokesperson for Likud, after managing several election campaigns for the current Israeli prime minister with Einhorn.

In this context, Israel's Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara, had notably decided to prosecute Einhorn and Urich, as well as other members of Netanyahu's office. They have repeatedly denied their involvement in this campaign.

Several Israeli opposition deputies have openly criticized the prime minister in light of these revelations from Haaretz, denouncing an initiative that aligns with the "continuation of the policy of funding Hamas through Qatar," instituted by Netanyahu in 2012 when he was prime minister, later maintained by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

Israel does not maintain official diplomatic relations with Qatar, but the two countries established trade relations in 1996, which lasted until 2009 when Doha cut them off due to a previous series of conflicts between Israel and Gaza. After a new informal rapprochement, the small Gulf emirate became the main financier of Hamas and the Gaza Strip, in coordination with Israel.

Haaretz estimates Qatar's financial aid to the Palestinian enclave between 2012 and 2022 at around $3 billion, partly diverted by Hamas to strengthen its armed wing, which significantly contributed to the preparation of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.