Israeli military officer arrested amid classified document leak scandal
This screen grab taken from a handout video released by the Israeli government press office shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attending a meeting in the command center of the defense ministry in Tel Aviv on October 26, 2024. (AFP Photo)
An Israeli military officer has been arrested in connection with the investigation into leaked classified documents from the Prime Minister’s Office, bringing the number of suspects to five, according to Israeli media outlet The Times of Israel.
The leaked documents, allegedly written by Hamas, were the basis of discredited articles published in the London-based newspaper Jewish Chronicle and Germany’s Bild.These articles suggested that Hamas had plans to smuggle hostages out of Gaza through Egypt and accused Hamas of using hostage negotiations as psychological warfare.
The material was reportedly obtained through intelligence operations, not from Gaza itself, according to Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster.
Prosecutors are treating the case with heightened sensitivity due to concerns that the leaks could expose key Israeli intelligence-collection methods.
Earlier, Eliezer Feldstein, a former spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was detained with three others, including security officials, for allegedly leaking the documents.
Meanwhile, this incident has led opposition figures to accuse Netanyahu of delaying truce talks, a claim his office denies.
