Israel investigates leaks that appear to have bolstered Netanyahu as Gaza ceasefire negotiations stalled – KION546

Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli court on Sunday relaxed a gag order in a case investigating the leak of classified information suspected to have involved one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's media advisers. Critics say the leaks were aimed at giving Netanyahu political cover as ceasefire negotiations stalled in Gaza.

Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing, downplayed the matter and publicly called for the confidentiality agreement to be lifted. 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.”

On Sunday, an Israeli court allowed the name of the main suspect in the case, Eli Feldstein, who Israeli media said was one of Netanyahu's media advisers, to be published. According to Israeli media reports, the case involves the leak of classified information to two European media outlets, allegedly by Feldstein, who may not have been formally employed and did not have a security clearance. The media reported that Feldstein joined Netanyahu as an adviser weeks after the October 7, 2023 attacks and had previously worked as an adviser to the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The court did not disclose the names of three other suspects who are also being investigated in connection with the leak.

The leaked documents are said to have formed the basis of a widely discredited article in the London-based Jewish Chronicle, later retracted, suggesting that Hamas was planning to expel hostages from the Gaza Strip via Egypt, as well as an article in The German newspaper Bild, which was about Hamas, portrayed the talks as a form of psychological warfare against Israel.

Israeli media and other observers expressed skepticism about the articles, which appeared to back up Netanyahu's demands in the talks and absolve him of blame for their failure. According to a video released by his office, Netanyahu did not mention the case during a visit to Israel's northern border on Sunday.

The articles appeared as Netanyahu called for permanent Israeli control of the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, a demand that was first made public over the summer. Hamas rejected the demand and accused Netanyahu of deliberately sabotaging the talks brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt.

The articles also appeared to serve as political cover as Netanyahu faced intense criticism from the families of the hostages and much of the Israeli public, who blamed him for the failure of a deal. Criticism peaked in early September with mass protests and calls for a general strike after Hamas killed six hostages as Israeli troops closed in on them.

A court document confirmed that an investigation by police, military and Shin Bet intelligence agency was underway and that a number of suspects had been detained for questioning. It said the affair posed “a risk to sensitive information and sources” and “endangered the achievement of war objectives in the Gaza Strip.”

The leak led to a scandal at the Jewish Chronicle, where prominent columnists resigned in protest over the discredited articles. The London-based newspaper removed the article in question and others by a freelance journalist, saying it was “unsatisfied with some of its claims.”

The Bild article suggested that Hamas was not serious about the negotiations and was using psychological warfare to stoke Israeli divisions. Netanyahu quoted it in a meeting with his cabinet after its publication.

He defended the article again in a statement released over the weekend, saying it “exposed Hamas's methods of exerting domestic and foreign psychological pressure on the Israeli government and the Israeli public by blaming Israel for the failure of the talks Blame the release of the hostages.”

Netanyahu has tried to blame the collapse of the talks on Hamas, whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, sparked the war. Hamas, which still holds scores of hostages, has said it will release them only in exchange for a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas says those demands have not changed after the killing of its top leader Yahya Sinwar last month, while the United States, Egypt and Qatar seek to restart negotiations.

Netanyahu, often described by critics as image-obsessed, is on trial for corruption in three separate cases, two of which involve allegations that he gave favors to media moguls in exchange for positive coverage.

His office has downplayed the latest affair and accused the judiciary of bias, citing the many other leaks throughout the war. It also denied that the leak in question had any impact on the ceasefire talks.

“The document only contributed to the return of the hostages and it certainly did not harm him,” Netanyahu's office said in a statement on Saturday, adding that he only learned of the document when it was made public.

His critics say the allegations are far more serious.

Yoav Limor, writing in the pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom, called it “one of the most serious affairs Israel has ever faced.”

“The damage caused goes beyond the realm of national security and suggests that the Prime Minister’s Office acted to thwart a hostage deal, which is contrary to the aims of the war.”

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