The Israel Defense Forces’ deputy envoy for hostage talks has agreed to a police request to extend his suspension from the negotiation team amid the ongoing “Qatargate” investigation.
Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav “Poli” Mordechai also agreed to continue to distance himself from senior officials.
Mordechai was suspended after police questioned him on August 21 and deemed his testimony “problematic,” which led to a 14-day suspension from the sensitive portfolio.
He has now agreed to be barred from the team for an additional 30 days. He must keep avoiding contact with Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, the IDF’s chief liaison to the talks, as well as former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, and the Shin Bet’s deputy chief.
The agreement prompted the cancellation of a scheduled hearing at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, which had been set to issue an official order extending the restrictions on Mordechai.
For the past year and a half, Mordechai — a former head of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories’ Palestinian liaison unit, and a former IDF Spokesman — has served as Alon’s deputy in hostage negotiations, which involve talks with Qatari mediators.
The Qatargate affair revolves primarily around suspicions that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, while working for Netanyahu, committed multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm. The alleged offenses include contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen.
The August interrogation marked the second time Mordechai had been questioned under caution by investigators. His first interrogation on suspicion of contact with a foreign agent and accepting bribes was in early July.
At the time, reports alleged that his company, Novard, had transferred large sums to Urich to fund an online campaign to improve Qatar’s image in Israel. Mordechai’s business partner Shaun Bouter, an ex-Mossad official, was also questioned as a suspect.
Novard has in recent years represented the Rafael and Elbit defense companies in marketing defense products to the Qatari government, the Ynet news outlet reported. The company also reportedly signed a contract with Perception, a public relations company owned by Srulik Einhorn, a former staffer to Netanyahu, as part of a campaign to boost Qatar’s image in the leadup to the 2022 World Cup. Urich also worked for Perception at the time of the campaign.
Mordechai continued in his position on the negotiating team even after reports of his Qatar links surfaced. On Wednesday, Channel 13 reported that Alon was summoned to give testimony regarding the roles of Mordechai and a former senior Mossad official, focusing on their business ties to Qatar. The current interim Shin Bet chief — whose name is not public — is also reportedly set to be summoned for questioning.
Addressing his suspension in August, Mordechai insisted he has “always adhered strictly to the letter of the law and assisted the State of Israel whenever the need arose.”
“Even in this case, though everything was done in an open, transparent manner and reported as required by the law, I will do everything that is required to assist legal authorities in uncovering the truth and will act according to their instructions, if only because reaching the truth will prove that there was no blemish and no flaw in my conduct,” he said in a statement at the time, distributed via his attorney Gadi Zilbershlag.
The IDF has also stood by Mordechai, emphasizing that he is fully committed to the hostage negotiation team, does not negotiate directly with intermediaries, and provides a critical contribution to operations.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.