Found in Gaza.. The scandal of leaking secret documents from Netanyahu's office

Israeli Channel 13 revealed on Friday evening a security case related to the involvement of employees in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in leaking documents and papers related to the security and political establishments, as the Magistrate’s Court in the city of Rishon LeZion allowed the lifting of the ban imposed on some details of the case related to the management of the war on Gaza.

There is talk of a new scandal related to the Prime Minister's Office and the team of advisors close to Netanyahu, and it indicates suspicions about the leaking of security and military documents and papers to foreign media outlets, as Netanyahu accused the military censorship of delaying the lifting of the ban in order to tarnish the reputation and image of his office.

The military censorship still prohibits the publication of all details of the case, which the Israeli media described as a scandal, as the investigation is being conducted into the leaking of a secret document to foreign media, including a German and a British newspaper.

Initial details

Initial details indicate that the document - which may be top secret or deliberately drafted and leaked by a team close to Netanyahu - included information claiming that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is not interested in stopping the war and is exploiting the families of Israeli detainees to pressure Netanyahu's government to accept a prisoner exchange deal.

Haaretz newspaper revealed that the Israeli Public Prosecution is investigating suspicions of leaking intelligence documents related to Sinwar to the German newspaper Bild and the British newspaper Jewish Chronicle, noting that two employees from Netanyahu's office consulted with the office of attorney Amit Haddad, who is defending Netanyahu in the corruption cases in which he is being tried.

According to the newspaper, the talk is about a very important event that developed during the war on Gaza, and it is likely that the case will have repercussions on the campaign launched by Netanyahu against the leaders of the security and military services since October 7 of last year, holding them responsible for the failure and failure to prevent the surprise attack launched by Hamas on the settlements of the "Gaza Envelope" and Israeli towns in the south.

The newspaper reported that one of the spokesmen in Netanyahu's office did not undergo security clearance tests at the General Security Service, as stipulated by the procedures in force, as he continued to review secret documents, information and secret protocols from the War Council.

After the publication ban on the case was lifted and the military censorship allowed some details to be published, Netanyahu denied that his office or those close to his office and his advisors were involved in the case, while Israel's Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu is looking to sacrifice some of his advisors and hold them responsible for leaking the documents in order to evade and avoid any responsibility that might subject him to investigation and accusations.

The official Israeli radio station "Kan-11" reported that "it was permitted to be published that a number of suspects in the case were arrested by the General Security Service "Shabak", including several employees in the Prime Minister's Office, on suspicion of involvement in suspicions of leaking documents containing sensitive information and endangering Israeli national security and harming the objectives of the war in Gaza, which Netanyahu's office denied."

Netanyahu's response

Netanyahu's office issued a statement denying his staff's involvement in the case, and the Prime Minister's Office said that "contrary to the false reports circulating in the Israeli media, no one from the Prime Minister's Office has been arrested or investigated."

"It is no coincidence that the prime minister requested that the gag order be lifted for the sake of the investigation," Netanyahu's office said in a statement, claiming that "the goal of obscuring the rest of the details and not publishing all the information related to the case is to tarnish the reputation of his office," according to the statement from Netanyahu's office.

Netanyahu's office claimed in the statement that there were no leaks from the Prime Minister's Office, saying, "There were dozens of leaks to Israeli and foreign media outlets regarding the details of the negotiations to return the abductees, as well as leaks from secret meetings of the War Council and other sensitive parties, but without anyone being investigated."

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, commented on the publication of the details, describing them as the secret documents affair, and blamed Netanyahu for the scandal of this leak of security documents.

He said in a statement to the media that "the issue of leaking secret documents reflects the essence of the relationship between the security services and the Prime Minister's Office and those close to him, where Netanyahu works as usual to evade and distance himself from suspicion and place the responsibility on others, even though Netanyahu is directly responsible for any document or statement issued by his office."

Lapid pointed out that the issue of leaking secret documents reflects the danger inside Israel, specifically in the decision-making center, which is considered the most sensitive body, which undermines the Israeli public's confidence in the management of the war and sensitive security issues.

The same position was expressed by the head of the "National Camp", Benny Gantz, who held Netanyahu personally responsible, saying, "Without going into the details of the case being investigated, the prime minister bears full responsibility for what happens and takes place in his office, whether the events are positive or negative."

(Al Jazeera)