Likud Says Netanyahu Will Sue Former Chief of Staff Over On-Air 'Qatari Agent' Claim

Likud announced plans to sue Yoav Horowitz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's former chief of staff, for half a million shekels over remarks Horowitz made on Channel 12 suggesting Netanyahu could be considered a Qatari agent, The Times of Israel reported.

Horowitz, who led Netanyahu's office from 2016 to 2019 and later helped found Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party, made the comment while discussing the so-called Qatargate affair, in which Netanyahu aide Jonatan Urich is reported to have met at least twice in Europe with a senior Qatari official, Ali al-Thawadi, during July 2024. "It must be assumed that, right now while we're talking, Benjamin Netanyahu is a Qatari agent," Horowitz said on air.

Likud called the remark "serious and false words of incitement" and said legal action was being prepared. Netanyahu himself has not been named a suspect in the ongoing Qatargate investigation, though several of his aides remain under scrutiny over allegations they worked as paid lobbyists for Qatar during the Gaza war.

The dispute adds a personal edge to an already heated campaign, pitting Netanyahu against a former confidant who now sits inside the rival camp led by his chief electoral challenger.