Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Israeli police of attempting to undermine his government, suggesting that they are engaged in what he perceives as a politically motivated campaign against him. In a video statement released recently, Netanyahu asserted that the police lacked evidence to support the arrests of two of his aides.
Netanyahu was called in for questioning on Monday as part of an ongoing investigation relating to alleged financial links between his administration and Qatar. According to the prime minister, he was interrogated for an hour before insisting on seeing the evidence presented against him, which he claims to have found lacking.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)
Following these events, The Jerusalem Post reported that its editor-in-chief, Zivka Klein, was also brought in for questioning by the police in connection to the Qatar probe. Klein had previously refuted any association with former Netanyahu aide Feldstein, after reports surfaced suggesting that Feldstein had organized a trip to Qatar for Klein.
Netanyahu says the probe, often referred to as “Qatargate,” is intended to stop him from firing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, who heads the Israeli equivalent of the FBI.
Last month, Netanyahu announced that he would seek to oust Bar over alleged “ongoing distrust.” However, some suspect that it is related to the Shin Bet’s assessment of Oct. 7, which “pointed to a policy led by the government, and the person who has headed it, for years, with emphasis on the year preceding the massacre,” the Times of Israel reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar (Reuters)
Bar slammed Netanyahu’s “expectation of a duty of personal loyalty, the purpose of which contradicts the public interest, is a fundamentally illegitimate expectation,” according to the Times of Israel.
Israel’s High Court froze Bar’s removal, which was set for April 8, but allowed Netanyahu to interview potential replacements. Netanyahu’s office announced on Monday that he had tapped a former Israeli Navy commander, Vice Adm. Eli Sharvit, to replace Bar.
“Sharvit served in the IDF for 36 years, including five years as commander of the Israel Navy. In that position, he led the force building of the maritime defense of the territorial waters and conducted complex operations against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran,” Netanyahu’s office tweeted.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
