2 Netanyahu associates linked to security leak scandal: Israeli media

JERUSALEM

Two associates of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are under investigation for leaking classified security documents, Israeli media said on Tuesday.

Haaretz newspaper, citing unnamed sources, said Israeli investigators have evidence linking Yonatan Urich, an external adviser to Netanyahu, and Srulik Einhorn, a former senior adviser, to leaks of military intelligence documents to the German newspaper Bild.

“This evidence prompted police to summon Urich for questioning,” the newspaper said.

Einhorn, a senior adviser to Netanyahu during his recent election campaign, is wanted by Israeli authorities for questioning. He is currently residing in Serbia.

It remains unclear whether Einhorn will return to Israel for questioning, according to the sources.

“The investigation suggests that after an initial attempt by Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein to leak classified materials to a Channel 12 journalist was blocked by Israel's censorship, Urich allegedly instructed that the information be passed to Einhorn, who then leaked it to Bild,” Haaretz said.

A joint letter to the court by the Shin Bet domestic security service and police said the arrests of key suspects “have thwarted further theft of classified materials, prevented the continuation of efforts to remove sensitive and classified information, thus averting further disclosure of data and sources, which would have harmed national security during wartime.”

Among the leaked documents was material Feldstein received from a suspected reserve officer allegedly intended to expose, including sensitive political information about another Middle Eastern country, Haaretz said.

According to the Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Feldstein had briefed Netanyahu on a document related to negotiations with Hamas before the leak. Five days later, the document was published by Bild.

Netanyahu’s office denied any involvement in the leak, insisting that the prime minister learned of the leak through the media.

Initial investigations revealed that one of the documents Feldstein leaked was classified as “highly secret” and had been obtained from an army officer and another military individual, both of whom are under arrest and interrogation.

The investigation also found that Feldstein was unable to leak the documents to local media due to military censorship, prompting him to turn to foreign press outlets instead.

This move, according to investigators, aimed to sway Israeli public opinion, which had been demanding a prisoner swap with Palestinian resistance factions in Gaza.

Opposition parties accuse Netanyahu of orchestrating the leaks to deflect pressure on his government and avoid responsibility for failing to reach a prisoner exchange agreement.

The leaks came amid public outrage following the deaths of six Israeli captives in Gaza in August. Feldstein sought to shift public discourse by blaming slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for the failure of the potential swap, thereby deflecting blame from Netanyahu, who was repeatedly accused of sabotaging efforts to secure both a cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal.

Hamas, for its part, said that the hostages were killed by Israeli gunfire and has consistently accused Netanyahu of hindering negotiations for a cease-fire and prisoner exchange.

Israel has continued a genocidal war, now in its second year, on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, killing nearly 44,000 people and injuring more than 104,000 others.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio