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PMO Leak: Arrests, Investigations and National Security Risks

Several suspects were arrested over the weekend in connection with the leak of secret documents from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). This is problematic and distressing on several levels and underscores how much stronger Israel needs its system of mutual separation of powers.

This is initial information and may be incorrect or may be clarified over time as more comes to light.

Sensitive security information was passed through the wrong channels into the wrong hands – and published through local and international news organizations – on an issue that is explosive and sensitive to the public and lies at the heart of the political and social divide in Israel in this year of war: Is the Price for returning the hostages too high?

That has tested people who believe that physical security – the complete neutralization of Hamas as a military threat – is a more worthy cause than not leaving brothers and sisters behind on the battlefield, that the victims of October 7 are much better deserved and that the hostages left the country a long time ago.

The goal of “neutralizing Hamas” is also vague and amorphous, changing depending on who is asked. Is it just Hamas' military capabilities? What about the ideas on which it is based, ideas that it swallows up in its jihadist worldview? What about their backer, the Islamic Republic of Iran?

IDF soldiers raid a 14-story building at a UNRWA facility in the Gaza Strip that is full of Hamas terrorists, October 22, 2024. (Source: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S Unit)

A red flag in every way

One of the alleged leaks under investigation was a note purportedly written by Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar on policies and protocols regarding the hostages in September. This was reportedly leaked to the German daily Bild.

The alleged document explains how to “torture” the hostage families and rally the international community to Hamas's cause, particularly its unwillingness to back down in the hostage negotiations.

This came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged that the Philadelphia Corridor was crucial to defeating Hamas. The appearance of the alleged note in the media came several days after the murder of the six hostages.

The fact that classified security information is being leaked and released to the media without proper authorization is a dangerous red flag that should make any right-thinking person frown. How did that happen?

This affects Israel's security and may pose unimaginable danger to the soldiers currently on the front lines fighting for Israel's existence. The lack of accountability is astounding, especially when it comes from the PMO. The IDF reportedly launched an internal investigation into the leaks last month.

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Where is the supervision? Where is the adherence to security protocols when releasing such sensitive information, the full details of which the public does not yet know, especially in the midst of a long, grueling, high-stakes war? As soon as these materials end up in the hands of politicians, the danger increases for everyone involved.

One can argue that everything is political – every decision, every announcement, the wording of the speeches themselves. True, but when it is done in a way that could endanger our security, the political game enters an arena where the stakes are high Risk goes. If this was systematic, as existing reports suggest, and not an isolated incident, it suggests rot at the core.

Furthermore, if the war policy that leaders are pushing is, in theory, what they believe is right, and the public agrees, then the people should not need to be further convinced of it by leaks like this; the right track should be enough.

Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, called the allegations a “cynical fraud operation taken from the handbooks of dictatorships.” This classified information was leaked to foreign media by people in Netanyahu's circle in a way that reinforces his lies about the failure of a hostage deal.

“This information lit the match in the toxic campaign against the hostage families, to mark us as enemies and punch holes in the wheels of the deal. This is a stab in the back of the nation!”

What Israel needs now more than ever is a tightening of its control system so that something like this never happens again.



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