Israeli government shaken by series of political-judicial affairs | Conflict in the Middle East

Three legal cases, in which members of the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are allegedly involved, have agitated political and media circles in Israel for several days.

The first case, partially disclosed by the courts last week, concerns Eli Feldstein, a former spokesperson for Mr. Netanyahu and former senior army officer, and four soldiers, suspected of having stolen confidential documents from the army and passed them on to foreign journalists.

According to known partial elements, Mr. Feldstein leaked a document to the German newspaper Bildaccording to which Hamas did not have the will to conclude an agreement on the hostages held in the Gaza Strip.

Another article published in the Jewish Chroniclea London-based newspaper, which was subsequently suppressed, reported that Hamas had attempted to exfiltrate the hostages from Gaza to Iran by passing them through Egypt.

According to Israeli justice, these leaks would have compromised negotiations for the release of the hostages.

According to the chronology established by the Times of Israelthe Israeli Prime Minister declared, during an international press conference on September 4, that Hamas could exfiltrate the hostages into the Sinai desert, in Egypt, and that they would end up in Yemen or Iran.

Benjamin Netanyahu then invoked this reason to justify the maintenance of the Israeli army on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

On September 5, an article from Jewish Chronicle reported on an internal Hamas document, found by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, which indicated, according to the newspaper, that the leader of Hamas at that time, Yahya Sinouar, killed in mid-October, would have planned to leave for Egypt in the company of a few hostages using the Philadelphia corridor.

However, according to the army, an internal Hamas document found in the spring indicated that the Palestinian movement wanted to drag out the war instead of seeking an agreement for the hostages, with the aim of provoking divisions in Israel. The army believed that this document resembled others found in Gaza.

On September 6, Bild published an article also based on an internal Hamas document, found by the Israeli army in Yahya Sinouar’s computer, which indicated, according to the newspaper, that the Palestinian movement was not seeking a rapid end to the war but that he prioritized maintaining its military capabilities and counted on the exhaustion of Israeli soldiers.

Critics of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government pointed out that the content of the articles resembled arguments put forward by the Israeli prime minister, who blamed Hamas for the blocking of negotiations.

Still according to the chronology of Times of Israelon September 8, the Israeli Prime Minister reportedly mentioned the article in Bild at the weekly government meeting saying he was relying on an official Hamas document. He also reportedly described the protests demanding a hostage deal as Hamas trap.

Benjamin Netanyahu is not suspected of being involved in this affair. According to the Times of Israelthe Prime Minister’s Office distanced itself from the main suspect, Eli Feldstein.

However, in a twist on Tuesday, a lawyer for one of the soldiers suspected of stealing documents said that Eli Feldstein allegedly told the soldier in question that he had passed the documents to the prime minister and that the latter had them. asked for more.

After the lawyer’s statement, the Israeli Prime Minister’s office suggested in a statement that the suspects were being pressured to implicate Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli media reported that Mr. Feldstein was recruited in October 2023, after the Hamas attack, to liaise with military journalists. He was previously reported to have worked as a spokesperson in the cabinet of far-right minister Itmar ben Gvir.

Blackmail

The second case under judicial investigation concerns a senior army officer who worked in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office until recently.

According to the newspaper Haaretzthis officer would have been the victim of blackmail from his former colleagues in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. The latter allegedly asked this officer to give them the minutes of the war cabinet meetings during the first days of the offensive in the Gaza Strip, telling him that they held personal (compromising) documents that belonged to him. . The chief of staff of the Israeli army, Herzi Halevi, would have been informed of this affair for several months.

Finally, the third investigation concerns potential manipulation of cabinet meeting minutes by members of the Israeli Prime Minister’s office.

Given the sensitive nature of these cases, which concern both the army and the government in the midst of war, the Israeli justice system has only communicated sparingly about them.

Fierce campaignsays Netanyahu

In reaction to these cases which are causing a lot of noise in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday that his office was the target ofa fierce and orderly campaign aimed at undermining state leadership.

He also claimed that Hamas and Hezbollah had received documents of sensitive meetings but that no investigation had been launched.

Israeli channel Canal 13 announced Tuesday that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s chief of staff will be questioned shortly.

Following these revelations, the Families Forum, which brings together most of the families of the 97 hostages still captive in Gaza, 34 of whom were declared dead by the army, demanded that all light be shed on the potential escape of documents which could have harmed, according to this association, an agreement on the release of the hostages.

Families [d’otages] demand an investigation of all those involved in suspected sabotage and undermining state security. Such action in general, and particularly during war, endangers the hostages, jeopardizes their chances of return and abandons them with the risk of being killed by Hamas terrorists.the organization said in a statement.

Furthermore, Yair Netanyahu, the son of the Israeli prime minister, accused the Shin Bet security services on Monday of trying to overthrow his father’s government and of torturing Israeli soldiers.

The message published on his X account appeared after press revelations about the series of investigations into Benyamin Netanyahu’s office.

With information from Times of Israel, Haaretz, Al Jazeera and France 24