Israeli court decides to release main suspect in Netanyahu office leak scandal

JERUSALEM

An Israeli court decided Thursday to release Eli Feldstein, the principal suspect in a confidential document leak case involving the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported that the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court decided to release Feldstein, a former spokesperson for Netanyahu, on Friday and to place him under house arrest for 10 days, despite a police request to extend his detention by four days.

The case concerns alleged documents that Feldstein leaked to the German newspaper Bild two months ago, attempting to influence public opinion.

The leaked documents aimed to give the impression that the late leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, did not want to reach an agreement on a hostage swap and cease-fire in Gaza.

At the time, Netanyahu was accused of sabotaging the chances for a swap agreement, while he blamed Sinwar.

Recently, Israeli security personnel arrested five people suspected of involvement in the leaks: four soldiers and Feldstein.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the case, but Michael Fetman, the lawyer for one of the suspects, confirmed that Netanyahu was handed the classified documents “at the heart of an ongoing investigation into illegal leaks to foreign media,” The Jerusalem Post reported.

As the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, continues its investigation into the leaks, the broadcasting authority reported that the security agency suspects manipulation by Netanyahu's chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, who allegedly changed the time stamp of a conversation Netanyahu held with his military secretary in the first minutes of the cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 without a clear reason.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala