Israel investigating leaks that appear to have strengthened Netanyahu amid stalled Gaza ceasefire talks

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli court on Sunday eased a silence order in a case involving leaks of classified information suspected to be related to one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s media advisers. Critics say the leaks were intended to provide Netanyahu with political cover as ceasefire talks in Gaza stall.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, downplaying the matter and publicly calling for the gag order to be lifted. Netanyahu said the person in question “never participated in security discussions, did not come into contact with or received classified information, and did not participate in secret visits.”

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

The court did not reveal the names of three other suspects who are also under investigation in connection with the leak.

The leaked documents are said to have formed the basis of a widely discredited article in London’s Jewish Chronicle: which was later withdrawn — the suggestion that Hamas planned to expel the hostages from Gaza through Egypt, and an article in the German newspaper Bild that stated that Hamas was stalling the talks as a form of psychological warfare against Israel.

Israeli media and other observers expressed skepticism over articles that seemed to confirm Netanyahu’s demands during the talks and absolve him of blame for their failure. Netanyahu made no mention of the matter during his Sunday visit to Israel’s northern border, according to a video released by his office.

The articles were published as Netanyahu called for permanent Israeli control over Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt borderthis request was first made public over the summer. Hamas rejected the demand and accused Netanyahu of deliberately sabotaging the talks, which were brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

The articles also appeared to provide political cover as Netanyahu faced fierce criticism from the hostages’ families and much of Israeli society, who blame him for failing to reach an agreement. Criticism peaked in early September, mass protests and calls for a general strikeafter Hamas killed six hostages as Israeli troops closed in on them.

The court document confirmed that an investigation by the police, military and the Shin Bet internal security agency was ongoing and that a number of suspects had been detained for questioning. It said the case poses “a risk to sensitive information and sources” and “harms the achievement of the goals of the war in Gaza.”

The leak caused a scandal in the Jewish Chronicle, where leading journalists resigned in protest against the discredited articles. The London-based newspaper removed the article in question and other articles by the independent journalist, saying it was “unsatisfied with some of his claims.”

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

He again defended the article in a statement over the weekend, saying it “revealed Hamas’s methods of exerting psychological pressure at home and abroad on the Israeli government and society by blaming Israel for the failure of hostage release talks.”

Netanyahu tried to blame Hamas, whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 started the war, for the failure of the talks. Hamas, where several dozen hostages are still heldhe stated that he would release them only in exchange for a permanent ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas says these demands have not changed since last month’s killing its supreme leader Yahya Sinwarsuch as the United States, Egypt and Qatar strive to resume negotiations.

Netanyahu, often described by critics as image-obsessed, he is on trial for corruption in three separate casestwo of which involve accusations that he did favors with media moguls in exchange for positive coverage.

His office downplayed the latest scandal and accused the justice system of bias, citing many other leaks that occurred during the war. She also denied that the leak in question had any impact on the ceasefire talks.

“The document only aided and certainly did not harm the hostage return efforts,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement Saturday, adding that he only learned about the document after it was made public.

His critics say the charges are much more serious.

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

“The damage it has caused goes beyond the sphere of national security and raises suspicions that the prime minister’s office took action to thwart the hostage agreement, contrary to the aims of the war.”

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