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Israel’s Netanyahu slams Qatargate probe as ‘political witch hunt’

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu testified Monday in a probe involving alleged payments from Qatar to some of his aides, an investigation he denounced as politically motivated. Israeli police arrested the prime minister’s two long-serving aides, Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein earlier on Monday, for their alleged involvement in the case local media have dubbed “Qatargate”.The arrests ratchet up political tensions in the country, where the government is trying to fire both the domestic security chief and attorney general, while expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges.The moves have reignited a protest movement in Israel, coinciding with the government’s resumption of fighting this month in the Gaza Strip.Feldstein had separately been arrested late last year and released into house arrest on accusations of leaking a classified document related to hostage negotiations in Gaza to shift critical media coverage of the Israeli leader.”As soon as I was asked to testify, I said that I was free and that I wanted to testify immediately,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.”I understood that it was a political investigation but I didn’t realise how political it was, and they are holding Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein hostage … There is no case, there is absolutely nothing, just a political witch hunt, nothing else.”Netanyahu is separately on trial over corruption allegations that he denies.- ‘A new low’ -Israeli media reported that a journalist from a prominent local publication had also been summoned for questioning in the case.Qatar, a gas-rich Gulf state, has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long hosted leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.”The brutal arrest of Yonatan Urich marks a new low in the political witch hunt to topple a right-wing prime minister and to prevent the dismissal of the failed head of the Shin Bet,” said a statement released by Likud, Netanyahu’s political party.Two weeks ago, the Israeli government unanimously approved Netanyahu’s proposal to fire Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency. The Supreme Court froze Bar’s dismissal and is to hold a detailed hearing on the case on April 8.Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is facing a similar dismissal, said the top court’s initial ruling prevents the hiring of a new security chief, but Netanyahu did so anyway on Monday.In its statement on Monday, the Likud party linked the Qatargate investigations to efforts to prevent Bar and Baharav-Miara’s dismissals, saying “for weeks, the prosecution and the head of the Shin Bet have been conducting baseless investigations in the dark under a gag order, trying to prevent the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet while using Urich and others as cannon fodder”. Earlier this month, the Shin Bet agency announced it had started investigating Netanyahu’s aides in relation to the case, barring the publication of any details. Bar has accused Netanyahu of having a “personal interest” in firing him to “prevent investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters” being looked at by the Shin Bet.In a letter, Bar referred to the “complex, wide-ranging and highly sensitive investigation” involving people close to Netanyahu who allegedly received money from Qatar.On Monday night anti-government demonstrators again joined a protest outside parliament, mocking Netanyahu and calling for an end to the Gaza war and a deal to release hostages still held by militants there.

Gazans flee southern city of Rafah after Israel military orders evacuation

The Israeli military on Monday ordered residents in and around the southern Gaza city of Rafah to evacuate their homes, suggesting it could return to ground fighting in the area.In a post on X, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee addressed residents in areas covering all of Rafah and parts of nearby Khan Yunis.”The IDF (military) is returning to fight with great force to eliminate the capabilities of terrorist organisations in these areas. For your safety, you must move immediately to the shelters in Al Mawasi,” northwest of Rafah, he said.AFPTV footage from the city showed long lines of people fleeing their homes on Monday. Some travelled by foot or by bike, while others pushed makeshift carts loaded with belongings. Donkey-pulled carts rolled down streets next to trucks piled high with blankets, mattresses and other household items. “A map was published today, entirely in red, indicating that all of Rafah must evacuate,” Rafah resident Ali Mansour told AFP. “I am currently on foot, there is no transportation, and I do not have the fare for a car ride. As you can see, we have no luggage with us — we left all our belongings behind.”Najah Dhahir, also from Rafah, was fleeing on foot with her nine-month-old baby.”We took our children and only what was necessary, leaving behind all our belongings — our mattresses, our food and our money. We left everything behind,” she said.Israel’s military on March 23 said it had encircled the Tal al-Sultan area in Rafah after warning civilians to leave.It said at the time that its objective was to “dismantle terrorist infrastructure and eliminate” militants there.Rafah, which sits along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, had already been the target of a major Israeli offensive about a year ago.Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza on March 18 and then launched a new ground offensive, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas.Since the fighting restarted, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says that at least 1,001 people have been killed.The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 50,357 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Top aide to Israel’s Netanyahu arrested in ‘Qatargate’ probe

Israeli police announced on Monday the arrest of two individuals, one of whom was confirmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party as a senior aide to the long-serving leader.Israeli media identified the two men as Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, both reportedly aides to the prime minister and allegedly linked to what has been dubbed locally as the “Qatargate Affair.”The arrests ratchet up political tensions in the country, where the government is trying to fire both the domestic security chief and attorney general, while expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges.The moves have reignited a protest movement in Israel, coinciding with the government’s resumption of fighting this month in the Gaza Strip.Feldstein had separately been arrested late last year and released to house arrest on accusations of leaking a classified document related to hostage negotiations in Gaza, to shift critical media coverage of the Israeli leader.Media reports on Monday further indicated that Netanyahu himself is expected to be questioned by police in connection with the Qatargate case.Netanyahu is separately on trial over corruption allegations that he denies.”Following an investigation being conducted by the National Unit for International Investigations (YAHBAL)… two suspects were arrested today for questioning,” the police said in a statement, noting that the case remains under a court-imposed gag order.- ‘A new low’ -Israeli media also reported that a journalist from a prominent Israeli publication had been summoned for questioning.AFP was unable to independently verify the identities of those arrested.Requests for confirmation from Netanyahu’s office were not immediately answered. Qatar, a gas-rich Gulf state, has no diplomatic ties with Israel and has long hosted leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.”The brutal arrest of Yonatan Urich marks a new low in the political witch hunt to topple a right-wing prime minister and to prevent the dismissal of the failed head of the Shin Bet,” said a statement released by Likud.Two weeks ago, the Israeli government unanimously approved Netanyahu’s proposal to fire the head of the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, Ronen Bar. The Supreme Court froze Bar’s dismissal and is to hold a detailed hearing on the case April 8.Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who faces a similar dismissal, said the top court’s initial ruling prevents the hiring of a new security chief, but Netanyahu did so anyway on Monday.In its statement on Monday, the Likud party linked the Qatargate investigations to efforts to prevent Bar and Baharav-Miara’s dismissals, saying “for weeks, the prosecution and the head of the Shin Bet have been conducting baseless investigations in the dark under a gag order, trying to prevent the dismissal of the head of the Shin Bet while using Urich and others as cannon fodder”. Earlier this month, the Shin Bet agency announced it had started investigating Netanyahu’s aides in relation to the case, barring the publication of any details. Bar has accused Netanyahu of “personal interest” in firing him to “prevent investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters” being looked at by the Shin Bet.In a letter, Bar referred to the “complex, wide-ranging and highly sensitive investigation” involving people close to Netanyahu who allegedly received money from Qatar.

China property giant Vanke reports annual loss of $6.8 bn

Debt-laden Chinese property giant Vanke reported annual losses of 49.5 billion yuan ($6.8 billion) on Monday, citing falling sales and shrinking profit margins despite Beijing’s attempts to revive the housing market.Vanke said 2024 was an “exceptionally challenging year” in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange and apologised for “distress caused… due to the …

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