The "Qatargate" case has reached its final stretch ahead of a decision on filing indictments. At the direction of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office and with special approval from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, Lahav 433 carried out investigative follow-ups in the case yesterday (Monday).
Yedioth Ahronot reported that as part of the move, a number of senior political and military reporters from Israel's leading media outlets were summoned to the unit's offices to give open testimony.
The purpose of their summons was to examine the depth of ties, working methods and the transfer of sensitive information between them and the spokesman for the former prime minister, Eli Feldstein, the central suspect in the case.
Among the prominent journalists who appeared for questioning were Itamar Eichner, the political correspondent for Yedioth Ahronot; Amir Bohbot, the military analyst for Walla; and Amichai Shtein, the political analyst for i24NEWS.
According to the report, investigators presented the journalists with exclusive articles and reports they had previously published on sensitive diplomatic matters related to Qatar and Egypt, and unusually demanded that they disclose the source of the information that led to publication.
When some of the journalists refused or expressed concern about harming journalistic confidentiality, investigators confronted them with classified materials - including internal WhatsApp exchanges between Eli Feldstein and Yisrael Einhorn, Netanyahu's former adviser.
In these exchanges, Einhorn appears to feed Feldstein targeted information, and Feldstein replies shortly afterwards with a link to the exact news article that was published, containing that same information.
Investigators asked the reporters pointedly whether financial benefits had been promised or given to them in return for coverage serving those interests, but all the journalists categorically denied this.
During the testimonies, the reporters provided investigators with a revealing glimpse into the extent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's own involvement in behind-the-scenes matters in the office.
Some journalists testified that Feldstein put them on conference calls and personally connected them to conversations with Netanyahu on sensitive diplomatic topics. Others told investigators that during routine work calls with Feldstein they clearly heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's voice in the background as he made remarks and dictated messages.
By contrast, when asked about their contacts with the close communications adviser Yonatan Urich, most of them responded that they had no contact with him in this matter.