An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is alleged to have leaked classified information to foreign press in the hopes of influencing public opinion on hostage negotiations, according to a court release published Sunday. <\/p>\n
Eliezer Feldstein was arrested earlier this month for allegedly leaking \u201cclassified and sensitive intelligence information,\u201d according to court documents. Sunday\u2019s court release outlines more of the details surrounding this alleged leak. <\/p>\n
According to the magistrate\u2019s court of Rishon Lezion, the leak began when a non-commissioned officer (NCO) in the Israeli military reserves took a \u201chighly sensitive and classified document\u201d from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). <\/p>\n
In April this year, the NCO sent a copy of the document to Feldstein, who distributed it to Israeli media outlets in September \u201cwith the aim of influencing public opinion on the ongoing negotiations concerning the hostages,\u201d the court release said. <\/p>\n
This came shortly after the Israeli military announced on September 1 that six Israeli hostages were killed in Gaza. Four of them were due to be released in the first wave of a potential deal. <\/p>\n
Israeli media outlets were prevented from publishing articles related to the leaked document by the country\u2019s censorship authorities, the court release said, so Feldstein \u201cdecided to bypass censorship and publish the document in foreign media.\u201d <\/p>\n
Two articles published in September, one in the United Kingdom\u2019s Jewish Chronicle and another in Germany\u2019s Bild, included information related to the leaks. Both cited Israeli intelligence sources and supported a narrative being pushed by Netanyahu at the time. <\/p>\n
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz \u2013 who quit Netanyahu\u2019s wartime cabinet earlier this year \u2013 seized on the alleged leaks as a failure at the very top of government, with Gantz calling it a \u201cnational crime.\u201d <\/p>\n
Both blamed Netanyahu\u2019s office for the leak, with Gantz accusing Netanyahu of leveraging the leaks for political gains. <\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Netanyahu denied earlier this month that there were leaks from the Prime Minister\u2019s Office (PMO), and said that the \u201cperson in question never participated in security-related discussions,\u201d apparently referring to Feldstein. <\/p>\n
The PMO also downplayed the possibility that the leak impacted negotiations with Hamas over the release of hostages from Gaza, calling the claim \u201cridiculous.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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