PMO workers involved in Qatargate 'must sit behind bars,' Smotrich says

Speaking at Bnei Akiva and Makor Rishon's national education conference, the finance minister criticized the alleged ties between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and Qatar, saying he was "horrified" by recent developments in the case, including an interview by key suspect Eli Feldstein on KAN.

He said that the allegations of Qatari infiltration into the PMO are "extremely serious and must be investigated," joining Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli as the two sitting ministers publicly calling for Netanyahu's office to be investigated as part of the scandal.

As part of his series of interviews with KAN, Feldstein described how, in the early stages of his interrogation by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), he chose to take full responsibility, believing that someone from the PMO would come and clarify to the investigators that he had acted with the Prime Minister's approval and knowledge.

“I thought I’d be out in two hours,” he said, “that someone brave would come and say, 'it was our work.'”

However, as the investigation progressed, he claimed it became clear to him that Netanyahu and his people were not backing him. “I didn’t know it was a one-sided friendship,” he said.

Feldman also described the direct confrontation with Yonatan Urich, Netanyahu's former advisor and lead suspect in the Qatargate investigation, in the interrogation room.