This is the affair that we talk about every day in the Israeli press: the “Bibileaks” (the “Bibi leaks”, the nickname of Benjamin Netanyahu. It finds its origin in the story of a zealous advisor to the Prime Israeli minister, Elie Feldstein: he would have benefited from complicity within the army's intelligence services, to have access to secret defense documents which he would then have modified, then transmitted to the press to justify the strategy of government's all-out war in Gaza and torpedo negotiations with Hamas on an exchange of hostages and prisoners.
In detail, the affair began last June when an army reserve officer sent Elie Feldstein a copy of classified documents. For a few weeks, Netanyahu's advisor kept them in touch. On August 31, 2024, the lifeless bodies of six hostages, probably executed by Hamas militiamen, were found in a tunnel in Gaza. Public opinion is inflamed, demonstrations are organized to demand a truce and the release of the hostages.
This is the moment chosen by Elie Feldstein to release the modified copy of the document to the press. He chooses the German weekly Bild and the Jewish Chronicle British, which allows it to circumvent the military censorship imposed on Israeli media. The articles published on September 6 recount, with false supporting evidence, how Hamas manipulates hostage families to harm Israel's interests.
Benjamin Netanyahu then has new arguments to justify his refusal to negotiate. The demonstrations are losing intensity, the war continues, the hostages remain in Gaza: there are around a hundred still in the enclave, including two French people. Many of them would have died.
Almost three months after the publication of these articles, it is today a matter of state: there was first a secret investigation by the army and internal intelligence, then justice took over. 'affair. Elie Feldstein is now behind bars. He faces a possible life sentence.
Officers and other advisors to Benjamin Netanyahu are also in the crosshairs of investigators. There is currently no proof of the direct involvement of the Prime Minister, who must however appear in around ten days in another case, this time corruption.
What is striking, however, is the vehemence and aggressiveness of the ministers in power in defending Elie Feldstein and demanding the resignation of leading officials, accused of harming the interests of the State and the Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu fired his former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, at the beginning of November, whom he considered too critical. He could try today to bring down new heads, to escape justice
