par Rami Amichay et Maayan Lubell
RISHON LE-ZION, ISRAEL (Reuters) – An alleged leak of classified documents relating to the war in Gaza and involving an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shaken Israeli politicians and outraged the families of hostages held by Hamas.
Details of the case have only been revealed slowly due to a publication ban.
However, a magistrate's decision partially lifting the order provided a first glimpse into the case that the court said compromised security sources and may have harmed Israel's efforts to free the hostages.
“Confidential and sensitive information was extracted from IDF (Israel Defense Forces) systems and taken out illegally,” the Rishon Le-Zion Magistrate's Court said on Sunday, which may have caused “serious damage to security of the State and constituted a risk for the sources of information”.
According to the court, this leak could have harmed efforts to free the hostages.
Benjamin Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing by members of his office and said in a statement Saturday that he only learned about the leak from the media.
The four suspects – a spokesperson for the prime minister's entourage and three security personnel – could not be reached for comment.
Details of the leaked document were published by German newspaper Bild on September 6, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, one of the media outlets that had asked the court to lift the publication ban.
At that time, the United States, Qatar and Egypt were acting as mediators in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, which were expected to include an agreement on the release of hostages held in Gaza.
But the talks broke down, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the impasse.
The article, described as exclusive, described an alleged Hamas negotiation strategy on the hostages and largely repeated Benjamin Netanyahu's comments on the impasse in the negotiations.
It was published days after six Israeli hostages were found dead in a tunnel in southern Gaza. Their killing sparked massive protests in Israel and outraged the hostages' families, who accused Benjamin Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks for political reasons.
On Saturday, some of these families joined the call by Israeli journalists for the publication ban to be lifted.
“For a year they have been waiting for intelligence or information on the negotiations for the release of these hostages. If some of this information was stolen from the army, we believe that the families have the right to be informed of any relevant details,” said their lawyer, Dana Pugach.
On Sunday, the court ordered the release of one suspect, while keeping the others in pre-trial detention, according to Haaretz.
Asked about the investigation, Bild said it does not comment on its sources. “The authenticity of the document we became aware of was confirmed by the Israeli Defense Forces immediately after its publication.”
(With Emily Rose in Jerusalem and Friederike Heine in Berlin; French version Kate Entringer)
