Netanyahu official arrested over leak that may have hindered Israeli hostage deal

Prime minister’s spokesman detained over ‘illegal removal’ of documents describing Hamas plan to smuggle captives out of Gaza

Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman has been arrested over allegedly leaking intelligence documents that may have hindered a potential Israeli hostage release deal.
Eli Feldstein, an official in the Israeli prime minister’s office, is accused of divulging classified military information that appeared to show Hamas was planning to smuggle Israeli hostages out of Gaza.
An Israeli court said on Sunday that Mr Feldstein had been detained along with three other unnamed suspects over the leaks to European media, which were published in September.
Rishon LeZion magistrates’ court said that an investigation was launched after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, the intelligence agency, became suspicious that sensitive military information had been “removed illegally”.
It said that this sparked “concerns of serious harm to national security and a danger to the sources of the information” and “as a result, damage could have been done to the ability of defence bodies to achieve the goal of freeing the hostages [held in Gaza]”.
The investigation centres on allegations that Hamas documents recovered by the IDF were leaked selectively or edited to suggest the terror group intended to smuggle hostages to Egypt and on to Yemen while letting the hostages negotiations go on.
The information appeared in articles in the London-based Jewish Chronicle and German tabloid Bild during a crucial time in the ceasefire talks.
At the time of the publication, Mr Netanyahu is reported to have issued a fresh demand in ceasefire talks for Israeli troops to remain on the Gaza-Egypt border and claimed that Hamas did not intend to go through with a deal.
The demand was rejected by Hamas on the grounds it was not part of the original proposal that both sides had conditionally agreed on and was a major reason the months of negotiations fell apart.
Mr Netanyahu reportedly made the same demand over the Philadelphi corridor in July when a draft hostage and ceasefire deal fell through.
The case has prompted the opposition politicians to question whether Mr Netanyahu was involved in the leak, an allegation denied by his office.
The prime minister’s critics have accused him of thwarting a deal that could potentially bring down his government, with far-Right parties vowing to oppose an end to the war unless Hamas is completely destroyed.
Mr Netanyahu has said that no one from his office had been arrested or was under investigation, although Israeli media report that Mr Feldstein worked in an advisory capacity.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the prime minister’s office of leaking “faked secret documents to torpedo the possibility of a hostage deal – to shape a public opinion influence operation against the hostages’ families”.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents most of the captives in Gaza, demanded an investigation into “one of the greatest frauds” in Israel’s history.
“Such actions, especially during wartime, endanger the hostages, jeopardise their chances of return and abandon them to the risk of being killed by Hamas terrorists,” the forum stated.”
The suspicions suggest that individuals associated with the prime minister acted to carry out one of the greatest frauds in the country’s history.
“This is a moral low point like no other. It is a severe blow to the remaining trust between the government and its citizens.”
Details of the investigation comes after Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy leader of Hamas’ politburo, said that Hamas will not return Israeli hostages until “the aggression on our people in Gaza is stopped” in a video address.
He also paid tribute to slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, saying his martyrdom will give “our resistance” strength.
Meanwhile, fresh violence in the West Bank has seen Israeli settlers torch 20 cars on the outskirts of Ramallah.
Around a dozen attackers, masked and carrying petrol bombs, are said to have targeted the Al-Bireh area at around 3am on Monday.
Hebrew graffiti reading “On Judea and Samaria – war” was also reportedly found on a wall in the vicinity, a reference to the biblical name for the West Bank.
Police and the Shin Bet security agency said they are investigating the attacks.