Israeli Police Arriving in Belgrade: To Question Vučić's Advisor

(Patria) - Investigators from the Israeli Police's serious crimes unit Lahav 433 are arriving in Serbia this week to question Yisrael Einhorn, former senior advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with the "Qatargate" affair and the leaking of confidential documents from the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Israeli media report.
Einhorn, who has been living in Belgrade since last year and works as an advisor to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, has not returned to Israel since the investigation into the leak of intelligence data began.

He, along with former Prime Minister's aide Jonatan Urih and former spokesperson Eli Feldstein, is suspected of stealing confidential documents from the Israeli military (IDF), at least one of which ended up in the German daily Bild. All three are also under investigation as part of the "Qatargate" affair.

Investigators want to question Einhorn about his involvement in promotional activities for Qatar through the PR agency Perception, which he ran together with Urih. The two, according to Israeli media, led a pro-campaign for Qatar ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, seeking to portray the Gulf state in a positive light. This engagement coincides with the beginning of the period under investigation.

Einhorn had previously tried to reach an agreement with the Israeli prosecution that would allow him to return to the country without arrest, reports public broadcaster Kan, but these negotiations failed. He then proposed to be questioned in Serbia, but the prosecution initially rejected this possibility, preferring his voluntary return or extradition proceedings.

Following a change in the Israeli prosecution's stance, it was decided that investigators would travel to Serbia and conduct the questioning on-site, reports The Times of Israel.