by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Israeli law enforcement officials continue to investigate the case that has shaken the country, alleging the involvement of high-ranking officials (including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ) in whitewashing Qatar's reputation (the so-called "Qatargate").
It seemed that by the beginning of April the positions of both sides would be studied inside and out, and there would be no new sensations in the case. However, a month later, "Qatargate" returned to the front pages of newspapers.
And not only Israeli, but also Qatari. Doha, which had kept silent for a long time, saw in "Qatargate" a threat to national security and a "rare chance" for its opponents.
"QATARI MANUAL"
After a series of "fan" interrogations, the main defendants in the case - the Israeli Prime Minister's confidants Eli Feldstein and Yonatan Urich - remained under house arrest, while Netanyahu himself was interrogated several times by investigative bodies "in a special manner." However, to no avail.
Attempts to expand the list of suspects by adding several other minor leak cases to Qatargate also led to nothing: the new suspects, at worst, received official reprimands.
The prosecution continues to insist that the investigation is proceeding at an “advanced pace.” At the last public hearing, held in late March, law enforcement officials reported receiving “breakthrough” information about the secret financial flows that fueled the scandalous scheme.
However, by that time, ordinary Israelis had almost stopped following what was happening in the courts. The proceedings had turned into a bureaucratic skirmish typical of the local judicial system and did not promise any unexpected turns. However, a new surge of interest in the case came from the "other side."
It happened after Israeli investigative journalist Roni Yanovsky deliberately leaked the "Qatari playbook" online. The main thematic lines that journalists from the government pool (and publications close to it) were supposed to follow when covering events in Gaza.
Thus, the main blame for the aggravation of the situation around the enclave was to be placed on Egypt. Allegedly, Cairo turned a blind eye to the smuggling of weapons and ammunition into Gaza through its territory, and also maintained contacts with the Hamas leadership through intelligence.
The reader must have gotten the impression that the Egyptian leadership had condoned the strengthening of the Palestinian resistance behind Tel Aviv's back and therefore could not play a leading mediating role and must cede it to Doha.
The relations between Qatar and Israel are presented in a completely different way. According to the theses cited by Yanovsky, Qatar allegedly met Israel halfway when it asked to “shelter” the Hamas leadership in Doha.
This was supposedly done so that Palestinian functionaries would always remain in the sight of the intelligence services and would not move to Iran or Yemen, under the de facto protection of Tehran.
And the contacts with Qatar (with which Tel Aviv still has no diplomatic relations) were presented as a strategic alliance.
It was through Qatari airspace that the first Israeli planes were supposed to invade Iran and attack its nuclear facilities.
This formulation of the question should, in theory, justify the increased contacts between Tel Aviv and Doha, while simultaneously calming anti-Arab politicians.
Traces of Qatari propaganda were found not only in the ultra-right media (on which the main focus was placed), but also on the pages of heavyweight publications such as the oldest Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
And although the journalist did not provide an exact list of the publications involved in whitewashing Qatar's reputation, the idea that the entire Israeli media machine was actually working for Doha ran through his article like a red thread. And with the consent of the authorities.
"MIRROR MEASURES" PROMISED
Israeli social media users immediately began analyzing publications in national media over the past year and a half in search of Qatar's tentacles and fishing out quotes that fit into the context of the "guidebook," even if they did not touch on Gaza at all.
Thematic posts already number in the hundreds, and their number is growing.
The latest round of scandal has not gone unnoticed by Qatar. Doha, which for several months had not commented on the hype around "Qatargate", lashed out at Tel Aviv with criticism.
Thus, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, called the new attacks against his country a “PR campaign by Israel” designed to denigrate the honor and dignity of the Arabian monarchy.
The prime minister's position was supported by other members of the cabinet, in particular the head of the Ministry of Finance, Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari , as well as the chief of intelligence, Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Khuleifi .
The latter noted that “beneficiaries from the intelligence services” had a hand in promoting the thesis about “Qatari interference.”
In addition, representatives of the Qatari authorities stated that they do not intend to put up with the denigration of their reputation and threats to national security. And therefore, they have already hired an American consulting company to “develop mirror measures.”
Qatar has every reason to react harshly to the accusations. In 2017, similar journalistic attacks, picked up by social media users, grew into a wave of protests against the authorities and resulted in a diplomatic blockade of the country for several years.
Doha clearly has no intention of letting the situation slide again.
Moreover, Doha’s rivals – Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt – could very well latch onto the “Qatari manual” being distributed by the Israelis.
For them, it will become a convenient pretext to weaken Qatar’s “mediation pressure” in the Middle East.
At stake in this case is not only the role of mediator in Gaza, but also work on the organization of post-war Syria and participation in organizing Russian-American negotiations.
Moreover, the theses about Doha’s “special role” in Israel’s military plans are having an impact on Qatar’s relations with Iran.
Tehran, already concerned about the ongoing build-up of forces near its borders, may see the leaks as confirmation of its worst fears and use them to justify strikes by its proxies on Qatari territory.