Netanyahu aide leaks may have harmed hostage talks, court says

Attempts to secure a peace deal in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held by Hamas may have been compromised by leaked and falsified documents involving a close aide to the prime minister, an Israeli court has said.

In its partial lifting of a gagging order, the court in the town of Rishon LeZion said Eli Feldstein and three others were under investigation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied wrongdoing by his staff, but opposition figures and hostage families have accused his government of sabotaging negotiations.

The leaking of the documents – to Britain’s Jewish Chronicle and Germany’s tabloid Bild - came at a crucial time for hostage negotiations.

The documents claimed Hamas was planning to smuggle Israeli hostages to Egypt - intent on scuppering any proposed ceasefire deal.

Some commentators say the revelations were politically useful for Netanyahu’s hardline position on the talks, which have made almost no progress.

Over 100 hostages out of 251 taken by Hamas on 7 October 2023 remain unaccounted for.

After the stories were published in September, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an inquiry to discover the source of the leaks.

This eventually led to the arrest of Eli Feldstein, along with the three others, whose identities have not been revealed.

Mr Feldstein had been working as a government spokesperson and was often seen accompanying the prime minister on visits. He had previously worked for the far-right Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, and before that he served as an IDF spokesperson.

Following news of his arrest, two leading opposition politicians held a press conference.

Benny Gantz, who until recently was in Netanyahu’s war cabinet, said that if sensitive security information was used for a "political survival campaign”, it would not only be a criminal offense, but "a crime against the nation".

Speaking at the same event, the leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, said that if the prime minister knew about the leaks, "he is complicit in one of the most serious security offenses” and that if he didn’t know, he is not fit for office.