Five Israelis were arrested for allegedly leaking classified information from Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office about Hamas

JERUSALEM – Israeli authorities arrested five officials late last week, including four from a military intelligence agency, for reportedly leaking state secrets to foreign media.

An Israeli military officer who worked in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office was one of five people arrested during an investigation into leaked secret documents. The officer, identified as 32-year-old Eli Feldstein, worked in the prime minister’s office as a military spokesman and was among five suspects arrested late last week. According to the Israeli news agency TPS, the names of the other suspects remain confidential.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that four suspects belong to a military unit tasked with preventing the leak of state secrets.

The leaked documents in question were reportedly authored by Hamas. They apparently formed the basis for a report in London’s Jewish Chronicle in September about a Hamas plan to smuggle Israeli hostages from Gaza into Sinai and transfer them to Iran. The Chronicle later retracted the report and fired the journalist, saying the story was fabricated.

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The documents also apparently served as the basis for a report in the popular German daily Bild that suggested Hamas was deliberately delaying hostage negotiations to put psychological pressure on the Israeli government.

Israeli Channel 12 reported that unnamed sources said the September Bild report “posed a continuing threat” to the lives of Israeli soldiers and hostages in the Gaza Strip.

According to Israeli public broadcaster Kan, the documents were not uncovered by Israeli forces in Gaza, but by “a different kind of intelligence service.” The case risks exposing Israel’s intelligence methods.

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Feldstein is suspected of obtaining the secret documents before they were published in the Chronicle and Bild-Zeitung, along with an interpretation that favored Netanyahu, who was then under public pressure, to agree to a ceasefire and the release of hostages to achieve.

Authorities are also investigating why Feldstein, who did not have the appropriate security clearance, had access not only to the documents but also to secret meetings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the graduation ceremony of the IDF Officers’ Course at the IDF training base. (Ma’ayan Toaf, Israeli Government Press Office)

Amit Segal, senior political analyst for Israel’s Channel 12, told Fox News Digital: “For a year now, there has been an ongoing debate, both openly and behind the scenes, between Netanyahu and the top security establishment about the price to pay. This battle was accompanied by leaks, some legal and some not. The Shin Bet is currently investigating whether Netanyahu’s people crossed the border and used classified information as part of this conflict.

He added: “In my opinion it will not change anything dramatic in Israel’s political arena. Netanyahu is unlikely to be involved in the case. It just shows again the distrust between the prime minister and the security establishment.”

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At a joint news conference in Tel Aviv, opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz questioned whether the revelation was on Netanyahu’s orders. “Netanyahu’s defense is that he has no influence or control over the system he runs. If that’s true, he’s unelectable. He is not qualified to lead the State of Israel in the most difficult war in its history,” Lapid said. “This case came from the Prime Minister’s Office and the investigation should examine whether it was not on the orders of the Prime Minister.”

Gideon Rahat, a professor at the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, echoed Segal’s analysis that the leaks would not harm Netanyahu. He told Fox News Digital: “Netanyahu is a kind of populist leader and nothing will happen to his hardcore supporters. He will use it to his own advantage and then say the deep state is after him.”

People, including the hostages’ families, walk to the front of the Israel Day on Fifth parade on June 2, 2024 in New York City with signs that read “Take them home now.” (Adam Gray/Getty Images)

The deep state for Netanyahu, according to Rahat, is the Israeli court system, which Netanyahu sees as liberal, as well as the security service and the military.

Rahat said populism includes the view that “everything that has to do with investigations and trials is directed against populist leaders.” Rahat gave an example to illustrate the differences between the governments of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a non-populist leader , and to show Netanyahu.

Olmert “did not have much success in leading the Second Lebanon War” against Hezbollah in 2006. His support back then was just 3%, he noted, adding: “If you look at his failure, it’s nothing compared to October 7th.”

The Second Lebanon War began with Hezbollah’s kidnapping of several Israel Defense Forces soldiers, rather than the massacre of nearly 1,200 people, Rahat said. Hamas also kidnapped over 250 people.

Rahat noted that Netanyahu has over 30% support and his voter base “still keeps him in the game.”

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In the context of populism, “politics today is seen as different. Politicians are not considered responsible for what happens under their rule,” Rahat said.