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Eli Feldshtein named as prime suspect in PMO leaks affair – Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's close aide is suspected of leaking confidential security documents as part of an orchestrated campaign to thwart a hostage deal, court documents revealed Sunday evening.

Speculation about the case had attracted public attention for days, even before Rishon Letsiyon District Court Judge Menahem Mizrahi partially lifted a gag order on details of the security breach.

It has already been described as one of the worst security breaches in the country's history. Specific details are scarce, but a court decision revealed that four people were under investigation, including a civilian, Eliezer Feldstein, a close associate of Netanyahu who had worked for him informally.

“The investigation began after significant suspicions arose within the Shin Bet and the IDF, including in light of media publications indicating that classified and sensitive intelligence information was being extracted from IDF systems and illegally removed,” the judge wrote.

This raised “concerns about serious harm to national security and compromise of information sources.” This could have impaired the ability of the security forces to achieve the war aims of releasing the hostages,” the judge wrote.

“Subsequently, a joint undercover investigation was launched by Shin Bet, IDF and the Israeli Police, during which these suspicions increased significantly.

“Accordingly, an open investigation has been launched, which has so far identified four suspects involved in the activity, including some officers of the security system and a civilian named Mr. Eliezer Feldstein. The investigation is ongoing and is being carried out in accordance with the law and under judicial supervision. Any further disclosures related to the investigation could harm the investigation, its objectives and national security,” Mizrahi said.

Mizrahi added: “It should also be said: I have reviewed the investigation materials and their conduct and am convinced that this is an extremely professional and substantive investigation that must be completed. If I were to order a wholesale annulment of the order, there is a real concern that it would significantly impact the investigation and the search for the truth.

The ruling also revealed that one of the suspects had been released from custody, while the arrests of three others were extended; that three of the suspects were prevented from meeting with a lawyer; and that there were “reasonable grounds” for the defendant’s guilt and “alleged evidence” thereof.

The judge presiding over the case, Rishon Letsiyon District Court Judge Menahem Mizrahi, approved the publication on Friday that “the open part of a joint investigation by the Shin Bet, the Israeli Police and the IDF began last week and is looking at suspects .” Security damage due to the illegal disclosure of classified information.

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This involves endangering sensitive information and information sources as well as hindering the achievement of the war goals in the Gaza Strip. At this time, several suspects have been detained for questioning and investigations are ongoing.”

The war aim in question was not specified, but it is widely believed that some of the documents in question are related to two reports in September, near the height of public pressure to support a hostage deal after the bodies of six hostages were found Men executed just days earlier were recovered from Rafah.

The reports in the German newspaper Picture and the British Jewish Chroniclesupported views expressed by the prime minister at the time that Hamas had no intention of entering into a hostage deal and that it planned to smuggle hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt.

The prime minister used the latter to underscore his assertion that Israeli soldiers must remain along the Philadelphia Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.

Who is Eliezer Feldstein?

Feldstein was hired by the Prime Minister's Office media team shortly after the start of the war, and his employment status also remained unclear. He previously served as spokesman for the IDF and then as spokesman for National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

According to a number of reports, Feldstein did not pass a Shin Bet security clearance process and was therefore serving in an advisory capacity and not an official employee of the Prime Minister's Office.

The Prime Minister's Office argued in a series of statements over the weekend, including a rare statement on Friday evening after the Sabbath had already begun, that no member of the Prime Minister's Office had been arrested or questioned.

However, although Feldstein is not officially part of the office, he can be seen in photos accompanying the prime minister on many tours to military bases and attending a number of meetings with senior security officials.



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