The editor of the Jerusalem Post is speaking out after he was detained by investigators pursuing allegations that Qatar bribed aides to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he was unjustly detained by the police.
Zvika Klein, the Post‘s new editor-in-chief, recounted in a column how shocked he was to be interrogated over an interview with the prime minister of Qatar in Doha. Police were evidently looking for evidence he had been bribed.
Klein wrote:
In late 2023, on the eve of the war, I was appointed editor-in-chief of the paper. At the same time, Qatar became a key player in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas. I understood this was a rare journalistic opportunity. I reached out to officials representing the Qatari government and, after some back and forth, I became the first Israeli journalist to interview the prime minister of Qatar. The full story was proudly published in this paper. Nothing was hidden. Everything was done with full transparency and at the highest journalistic standards.
…
I received nothing in return. No benefits, no payment, no promises. I came back to Israel, and apparently one fact puzzled the police: I got nothing in return. A public relations official connected to the delegation offered to promote the article in other media outlets. I agreed. The interviews aired on Channel 12 and Channel 13. I didn’t hide anything. On the contrary – it was all out in the open.
When I was asked to give an open testimony to the police, I complied, as a law-abiding citizen. I thought I could be helpful – nothing more. But then everything turned upside down.
As Breitbart News has reported, Israeli law enforcement officials have alleged that Qatar tried to bribe aides to Netanyahu so that they would portray Qatar as more helpful than Egypt in ongoing hostage negotiations with Hamas.
The aides deny any wrongdoing, though Qatar has a history of trying to spend its way to positive coverage in western media. Klein’s arrest lends weight to Netanyahu’s claim that the probe is just another “deep state” effort to sink him.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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