Israeli court considers order lifting confidentiality in case of confidential information leaks

Israeli media reports that an Israeli court is considering lifting a gag order in a case involving alleged leaks by an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

A court document confirmed that the Israeli police, military and internal intelligence agency Shin Bet are investigating the suspects in connection with the leaks.

The leaks involve information passed to two European media outlets by an adviser close to Netanyahu who may not have had the required security clearance.

Netanyahu said the person in question “never took part in security talks, did not receive or receive any confidential information and did not take part in secret visits.”

The leaked documents reportedly formed the basis of a widely discredited article in the Jewish Chronicle (JC) that claimed Hamas was planning to smuggle prisoners from Gaza to Egypt, and an article in the German newspaper Bild that claimed It was alleged that Hamas delayed the talks as a form of psychological warfare against Israel.

The JC has since retracted the discredited article and distanced itself from the author who wrote the original article.

Israeli media criticized both articles, accusing them of supporting Netanyahu's demands in the talks and absolving him of blame for their failure.