Israel
Jerusalem Post editor placed under house arrest in ‘Qatargate’ investigation
The move has attracted criticism from opposition leaders and place the spotlight on the embattled Attorney General
April 3, 2025 12:00
The move has attracted criticism from opposition leaders and place the spotlight on the embattled Attorney General
April 3, 2025 12:00The editor of the Jerusalem Post, Israel’s oldest English-language newspaper, has been placed under house arrest after he was questioned by police in connection with the investigation into the so-called Qatargate scandal.
Zvika Klein was revealed this week to be the “senior journalist” who was quizzed by officers over his connections with the Gulf state.
The decision to detain Klein has also drawn criticism from opposition leaders.National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz called on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to “thoroughly examine the necessity of the house arrest of the Post’s editor,” adding: “The potential harm to freedom of the press, which is a fundamental value in democracy, must be taken into account in decision-making.”
The Israel’s Journalists Organisation also released a statement, saying: “The arrest and investigation of a journalist could severely damage information confidentiality and journalistic source protection, and could create a chilling effect on other journalists.
"In the past two days, the organisation has conducted and continues to conduct thorough examinations with the law enforcement agencies involved in the matter and maintains continuous contact with them.
"We were told that during his investigation, the journalist was not asked about his journalistic sources.”
Police, in a joint operation with the Shin Bet, are investigating allegations that political officials close to Prime Minister Netanyahu were paid to lobby for Qatari interests and improve the emirate’s image in Israel.
Klein was questioned under caution after two Netanyahu aides, Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, were arrested this week.
Israeli Police told the Rishon Letzion Magistrates’ court that Urich is suspected of passing secret information to a foreign agent, reported by Ynet to be a Qatari lobbyist. He and Feldstein are also accused of bribery, fraud, contacting a foreign agent and money laundering.
They have since had their detention extended and remain in custody.
But police also confirmed that Klein had been confined to house arrest for five days, without specifying any charges.
The announcement focussed immediate scrutiny on Baharav-Miara, who initially declined to comment on whether she ordered the arrest.
She later clarified that Klein was accused of being part of a “system of receiving benefits from Qatar in exchange for advancing its interests” after he allegedly made statements in his police interview that incriminated him.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Klein visited Qatar last year and wrote a number of articles around his visit upon his return.
Baharav-Miara is currently locked in a public row with Netanyahu over his allegations that she is actively working to block government policy and subsequent attempt to dismiss her, which has now been snarled up in a judicial review. Her case has also been linked with the attempted firing of Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, with Netanyahu making public claims of a “deep state” conspiracy to bring down his government and condemning the investigation as a “witch hunt”.