Israel has been gripped by allegations linking aides of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to financing from Qatar, which hosts Hamas leaders and helped broker the release of hostages from Gaza.
Dubbed "Qatargate" by Israeli media, the reports that sparked an investigation claimed some of the people closest to Mr Netanyahu had been recruited to promote Qatar's interests in Israel.
The two countries have no formal diplomatic ties, but the Israeli PM on Wednesday insisted Qatar was "not an enemy state" in defence of his aides.
Some details remain unclear, with an investigation led by Israeli police and Shin Bet, the domestic spy agency, ongoing.
Here's what we know so far.
What is Qatargate?
At least two of Mr Netanyahu's associates — Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein — are suspected of receiving payments from the Qatari government to promote Doha's interests in Israel.
Allegations of ties between members of Mr Netanyahu's close circle and the Qatari government have swirled in the Israeli press since mid-2024.
The affair ramped up on Monday when Mr Urich and Mr Feldstein were arrested and Mr Netanyahu was called in for questioning in a probe he slammed as a "political witch hunt".
"They are holding Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein hostage," he said in a video post after being questioned.
The prime minister has not been implicated himself, but he is separately on trial over corruption and breach of trust allegations.
Mr Urich and Mr Feldstein, who no longer works for Mr Netanyahu, are suspected of having taken money from Qatar to distribute pro-Qatari messaging to Israeli media outlets during Gaza ceasefire negotiations, which Qatar helped mediate.
According to court documents seen by CNN, prosecutors allege the pair "worked to transfer messages to journalists in a manner that presented sympathetic articles about Qatar in the media, minimising Egypt's role as a fair mediator in the deal, while dictating the media agenda".
They face charges including contact with a foreign agent, bribery, money laundering, breach of trust and fraud, as detailed by Judge Menachem Mizrahi at a hearing in Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court on Tuesday after he lifted a gag order on the case.
Who are the suspects in Qatargate?
Yonatan Urich has been working closely with Mr Netanyahu for most of the past decade since starting out as the social media manager for the prime minister's Likud party.
He also co-owns a media consulting firm called Perception with Yisrael Einhorn, who has also worked with Mr Netanyahu.
According to Israeli media reports, Perception was hired to improve Qatar's image ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, claims Mr Urich and the firm denied at the time.
Eli Feldstein is already under investigation for leaking classified documents to journalists during the short time he worked unofficially as the prime minister's military affairs spokesman.
According to reports, Mr Netanyahu was seeking to offer Mr Feldstein a more permanent role but after failing to receive the necessary security clearance, he remained an external contractor.
Last month, an investigation by Israel's Channel 12 alleged that while working for Mr Netanyahu, Mr Feldstein received a salary from Jay Footlik, a known US lobbyist for Qatar.
Further reports on Monday said Mr Feldstein promoted Qatar to Israeli journalists and arranged trips for them to Doha.
Mr Footlik owns a consulting firm, Third Circle Inc, registered under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) as working for Qatar.
An Israeli court on Tuesday said suspicions were related to Third Circle and funds aimed at "projecting a positive image of Qatar" in relation to its role as a mediator for a truce and hostage release agreement in Gaza.
A final name that has been linked to the affair is Israeli businessman Gil Birger, who this month told Israel's state broadcaster that he had been asked by Mr Footlik to pay Mr Feldstein through his company.
What is the significance?
Head of political studies at Bar-Ilan University Jonathan Rynhold told news agency AFP the affair "ties all bad things relating to Netanyahu together in one package".
"This links Netanyahu directly to the policy of appeasing Hamas," he said.
His reference was to Israel allowing Qatar to send millions of dollars in cash into Gaza that many now believe strengthened Hamas and enabled it to conduct its October 7, 2023, terror attack in southern Israel.
Qatar began sending cash to the Gaza Strip in 2018, via Israeli territory. Israel reportedly approved those transfers with an objective of maintaining peace in Gaza and thwarting attempts to establish a Palestinian state.
The affair has piled more pressure on Mr Netanyahu, who has clashed with the judiciary over his bid to sack Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet.
Mr Bar's relationship with the Netanyahu government soured after he blamed the executive for the October 7 security fiasco and, crucially, following a Shin Bet probe into Qatargate.
In addition to the questions Qatargate raises about Israel's apparent attempts to draw closer to a main backer of its foe, analysts say it could also further jeopardise Jerusalem's already fissuring relationship with Egypt, its neighbour and key mediator in ceasefire negotiations.
"Egypt is Israel's most significant Arab ally. It was the first regional country to accept Israel, and shares a 200-kilometre border with the Jewish state," Dan Perry, former Middle East chief editor for the Associated Press, wrote for The Forward.
"Risking that relationship to curry favour with Qatar would be astonishingly short-sighted, and it is a genuine risk: The Egyptian regime led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi is a major enemy of the regional Muslim Brotherhood network of organisations, which Qatar has backed.
"The domestic implosion of Israeli governance is colliding with regional and international efforts to stabilise Gaza, prevent escalation with Hezbollah, and manage power rivalries in the Gulf."
How has Qatar responded?
A Qatari government official told AFP it was "not the first time we have been subject of a smear campaign by those who do not want to see an end to this conflict or the remaining hostages returned to their families".
The official said Qatar would continue its mediation efforts on the Israel-Hamas war.
Qatar has also been embroiled in a similar scandal with the EU since December 2022 in which it is alleged officials linked to the European Parliament took Qatari bribes to manipulate EU parliamentary proceedings at least 300 times.
The African nations of Mauritania and Morocco were also alleged to have provided funds for the influence operation. All three governments denied involvement.
Qatar's main motivation then was also said to have been to rehabilitate its image ahead of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
What next for Netanyahu?
Mr Netanyahu defended his aides on Wednesday, saying that Qatar "is a complex country … but it is not an enemy state".
It remained unclear, however, how the affair would continue to unfold.
"Will he need to sacrifice these two people? If he sacrifices them, will they open their mouths?" Professor Gideon Rahat of the Hebrew University said of Mr Netanyahu and his aides.
For now, the prime minister is fighting back and "framing it as though the secret service is after him because he wants to kick out the head of the secret service", Mr Rahat added.
"In a normal country, if the prime minister had spies in his office, he would resign, but we are not in normal times."
The attempted sacking of Shin Bet's director, who has presided over the Qatargate investigation along with police, and other top officials has fuelled large anti-government protests in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in recent days.
Israelis have cast those efforts as a bid to undermine state institutions while prolonging the war in Gaza, prompting fears for a civil war as well as a constitutional crisis.
Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Hungary next week despite being the subject of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant.
Hungary, defying its legal obligation as an ICC member state, has said it would not uphold the warrant.
ABC/AFP
