Eli Feldstein, spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, was identified on Sunday as the main suspect in a case of leaks of classified documents, following the partial lifting of the secrecy of the investigation by the Rishon Lezion court. Aged 32, this former officer in the IDF spokespersons unit is accused of having disclosed highly sensitive information to European media, particularly concerning negotiations on hostages. According to the court, these leaks “could have harmed the ability of the defense services to achieve the objective of freeing the hostages.”
Despite Netanyahu's attempts to distance himself from the affair, several media outlets report that Feldstein had been operating as a de facto employee of the prime minister's office for a year, although he had failed the polygraph test needed to obtain clearance. security required.
The leaked documents reportedly served as the basis for articles in London's Jewish Chronicle and Germany's Bild, suggesting that Hamas was deliberately prolonging negotiations as a form of psychological warfare against Israel. These publications, since widely discredited, appeared to serve Netanyahu's positions in the negotiations.
The Israeli opposition, through Yaïr Lapid, accuses the Prime Minister either of incompetence or of complicity in “one of the most serious security offenses.” The Hostage Families Forum said the revelations “indicate that the Prime Minister's entourage acted in a manner that endangers national security in an attempt to thwart the return of the hostages.”
Investigators are examining four distinct aspects: the leaking of top-secret documents, unauthorized access to sensitive meetings, negligence in the handling of classified documents, and the use of these documents to influence public opinion on the hostage agreement.
