An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accused of leaking classified information to foreign media to influence public opinion on hostage negotiations, according to information released by an Israeli court on Sunday.
The Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, Israel, said that the leak involved a highly classified military intelligence document given to Germany’s Bild newspaper in September this year, The Times of Israel reported. The aim was reportedly to reduce public criticism of Netanyahu after six high-profile hostages were killed by Hamas in late August.
The court identified Eli Feldstein, an aide to Netanyahu, as a key suspect in the case. The document was allegedly leaked to shift public focus on the hostage situation, hold Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar responsible for delays in negotiations, and suggest that protests demanding hostage releases were helping Hamas.
Feldstein was arrested earlier in the month for leaking “classified and sensitive intelligence information,” court documents said.
The court explained that the leak began when a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the Israeli military reserves removed a “highly sensitive and classified document” from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). In April, the NCO reportedly sent this document to Feldstein.
Feldstein later shared it with Israeli media outlets in September “with the aim of influencing public opinion on the ongoing negotiations concerning the hostages,” according to the release.
Since Israeli media outlets were prohibited from publishing the leaked document due to censorship laws, Feldstein “decided to bypass censorship and publish the document in foreign media.”
In September, two articles referencing the leaked information were published in the United Kingdom’s Jewish Chronicle and Germany’s Bild. Both cited Israeli intelligence sources and aligned with Netanyahu’s stance at the time.
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