JERUSALEM – Israeli authorities arrested five officials late last week, including four from a military intelligence unit, for leaking state secrets to foreign media.
An Israeli military officer working in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office was one of five people arrested during an investigation into leaked classified documents. The officer, identified as 32-year-old Eli Feldstein, works as a military spokesperson in the Prime Minister's Office and was among five suspects arrested late last week. The names of the other suspects remain under gag orders, Israeli news agency TPS said.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that the four suspects were from a military unit tasked with preventing the leaking of state secrets.
The leaked document in question was reportedly written by Hamas. These are apparently the basis for a report by the London-based Jewish Chronicle, which in September reported on a Hamas plan to smuggle Israeli hostages from Gaza to the Sinai Peninsula and transfer them to Iran. The Chronicle later retracted the report and fired the reporter, saying the story had been fabricated.
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An Israeli Defense Forces tank moves through the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza. (IDF Spokesperson Unit)
The document appears to have been the basis for a report in the popular German daily Bild that suggested Hamas was deliberately provoking hostage negotiations to put psychological pressure on the Israeli government.
Israel's Channel 12 reported that Bild's September report said anonymous sources said there was a “continued danger” to the lives of Israeli soldiers and hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Israel's Kan public broadcaster said the documents were discovered not by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, but by “a different kind of intelligence agency.” The incident risks exposing Israel's intelligence-gathering methods.
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Mr. Feldstein is suspected of receiving classified documents before they were published in the Chronicle or Bild newspapers, with interpretations favorable to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was under public pressure to reach a cease-fire and hostage release deal at the time.
Authorities are also investigating how Mr. Feldstein, who did not have the proper security clearance, was able to access not only the documents but also the confidential meetings.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the IDF officer training graduation ceremony held at an IDF training base. (Maayan Tov, Israeli Government Press Office)
Amit Segal, chief political analyst for Israel's Channel 12, told Fox News Digital: “For a year, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the top security officials have been discussing the price, both publicly and behind the scenes. It has continued,” he said. The fight, some legal and some not, is currently under investigation into whether Prime Minister Netanyahu's people crossed the line and used classified information. ”
He added: “In my opinion, there will not be any dramatic changes in the Israeli political arena. Prime Minister Netanyahu will probably be found not involved in this incident. “It just shows once again the distrust between us,” he added.
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At a joint press conference in Tel Aviv, opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz questioned whether the leak occurred on Prime Minister Netanyahu's orders. “Prime Minister Netanyahu's defense is that he has no influence or control over the regime he leads. If that is true, then he is unqualified. He is unqualified to lead the state of Israel in the most difficult war in history. No,” Lapid said. “This incident came from the prime minister's office and the investigation should look into whether it was ordered by the prime minister.”
Gideon Rahat, a political science professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, echoed Segal's analysis that the leaks would not harm Netanyahu. “Prime Minister Netanyahu is kind of a populist leader and nothing will happen from his hardcore supporters,” he told Fox News Digital. “I would say the state is after me,” he said.
People, including family members of hostages, walk to the front holding signs that say “Go home now” during the Israel Day on Fifth parade in New York City on June 2, 2024. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
For Netanyahu, the deep state is Israel's court system, security services and military, which Netanyahu considers liberal, Rahat said.
Rahat said populism includes the view that “everything that has to do with investigations and trials is against populist leaders.” Rahat gave an example of the difference between the government of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a non-populist leader, and Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Olmert was unable to achieve “significant success in waging the Second Lebanon War” against Hezbollah in 2006. He noted that Prime Minister Olmert's approval rating at the time was just 3%, adding: “If you look at his failures, they are nothing compared to the October 7th terrorist attack.” . ”
Rahat said the Second Lebanon War began with Hezbollah's kidnapping of several IDF soldiers, not the massacre of nearly 1,200 people. Hamas also kidnapped more than 250 people.
Rahat pointed out that Prime Minister Netanyahu's approval rating is over 30% and that his electoral base “still holds him together.”
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In the context of populism, “politics today is seen as different. Politicians are not seen as responsible for what happens under their rule,” Rahat said. .
