Bennett turns to Shin Bet chief demanding to remove Orich from Netanyahu's office

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has turned to Shin Bet chief demanding the immediate removal of Jonathan Orich, a close advisor to Netanyahu, from any contact with the Prime Minister's Office, following revelations in the QatarGate affair. Bennett demands an investigation into whether Orich's activities on behalf of Qatar endangered the peace agreement with Egypt.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett turned today (Wednesday) to Shin Bet chief David Zini demanding the immediate removal of Jonathan Orich, a close advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, from any contact with the Prime Minister's Office. The appeal comes in the wake of the recent revelations in the QatarGate affair, including Orich's admission in an investigation that he continued to work for Qatari entities during the war and received hundreds of thousands of shekels. Bennett demands an examination of whether Orich's activities included a serious security offense, including possible harm to the peace agreement with Egypt. Bennett harshly criticized and called the affair "the most severe treason affair in the state's history." He directed questions directly to Netanyahu: when did he know about the affair, why does he continue to employ Orich, and what are the relations between Netanyahu and Qatar. The article details the revelations: Orich met in July 2024 with a senior Qatari official in Europe, and asked ChatGPT to formulate a plan to improve Qatar's image in Israel. Orich denied that he actually acted to promote Qatar in Israel. The article notes that the mere existence of the correspondence and meetings does not prove a security offense.