Qatar denies involvement in Qatargate

The International Media Office of the state of Qatar issued a sweeping denial of any involvement in the Qatargate scandal today (Thursday), where Eli Feldstein and Yonathan Urich, who both worked for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stand accused of accepting money to promote Qatar as a good mediator and play down the role of Egypt in brokering hostage negotiations.

According to the statement, Qatar "strongly condemns the statements published by some journalists and media outlets alleging that Qatar has made financial payments to undermine the efforts of Egypt or any of the mediators involved in the ongoing negotiations between Hamas and Israel."

They then entirely denied the whole affair as "misinformation": "The State of Qatar affirms that these allegations are baseless and serve only the agendas of those who seek to sabotage the mediation efforts and undermine relations between nations. They also represent a new development in the ongoing misinformation campaign that is attempting to divert attention away from the humanitarian suffering and perpetuate the politicisation of the war."

Just to remove any doubt about Qatar's official view of Egypt's role in mediating hostage negotiations, they had this to say about their partner: "The State of Qatar commends Egypt’s pivotal role in this critical matter, as both sides engage in daily cooperation and coordination to ensure the success of joint mediation efforts aimed at achieving regional stability."

Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to deny any wrongdoing by Feldstein and especially Urich, arguing that the very action of praising Qatar is no different than the actions of many members of the opposition and security establishment.