Judge: Qatar Tried to Bribe Israeli Officials to Downplay Egypt’s Role in Negotiations

Several aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are accused of taking money from Qatar in return for portraying that regime positively and downplaying Egypt’s role as a mediator in hostage talks, a judge said Tuesday.

The latest controversy to roil Israeli politics involves a complicated intra-Arab rivalry, fought out on the terrain of Israeli and American politics, with Israeli officials and a Jewish American lobbying firm as unlikely intermediaries. read more...