Maj. Gen. (res.) Yoav Mordechai has been temporarily removed from Israel’s hostage negotiating team as part of the widening “Qatargate” corruption investigation.
Channel 12 reports that police deemed recent testimony by Mordechai “problematic,” leading to a 14-day suspension from his role. For the past 18 months, he has served as deputy to Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, who oversees hostage negotiations for the IDF.
Mordechai was first questioned in July on suspicion of accepting bribes and having illegal contact with foreign agents. Investigators suspect his company, Novard, funneled money to Jonatan Urich, a senior aide to Prime Minister Netanyahu, to fund pro-Qatar campaigns. His business partner, former Mossad officer Shaun Bouter, was also interrogated.
Defense officials stress that Mordechai has not led direct negotiations but has played a “critical” role in strategy. His suspension adds turbulence to sensitive hostage talks, already strained by the corruption scandal.
