Feldstein, NCO to remain in detention as High Court studies intel leak case
Justice Alex Stein says he needs more time to review case material, with decision on whether the pair will remain in custody expected next week
The two suspects in the scandal involving the Prime Minister’s Office and the alleged leak of stolen classified documents to the media will remain in detention for now after prosecutors appealed the Tel Aviv District Court’s decision to release them to house arrest.
Supreme Court Justice Alex Stein said Thursday he was freezing the court’s order as he needed more time to study the details of the case. A decision is expected next week.
Eli Feldstein, an aide and spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with an IDF reservist, have been held in custody for over a month on suspicions of leaking stolen classified intelligence information that was then published in the foreign press.
The soldier is accused of leaking the military intelligence to Feldstein. Feldstein is accused of transferring classified information with the intent to harm state security, a charge that can carry a sentence of life in prison, as well as illicit possession of classified information and obstruction of justice.
During a hearing Tuesday at the Tel Aviv District Court, the presiding judge said he did not see sufficient evidence to justify the state’s charge that Feldstein had intended to harm national security, but did indicate there was “clear” evidence that Feldstein knowingly breached military censorship when leaking a stolen classified IDF document.
The intelligence document ostensibly detailed Hamas’s priorities and tactics in hostage negotiations. Feldstein leaked it to German paper Bild with the alleged aim of turning Israeli public opinion against a deal. Defense officials have said it later became apparent that the document did not necessarily reflect Hamas leadership’s position and that leaking it endangered intelligence sources.
Feldstein is accused of sending it to Bild even though he was aware that it was obtained illicitly and that the military censorship had barred the information from publication.
On Wednesday, Feldstein’s lawyer said that during his interrogation, his client “decided to stop taking the fall for the premier and his office.”
“He did not say that Netanyahu ordered the document to be released to foreign media, but that [Netanyahu] knew about the document and the plan to release it to the media,” said Oded Savoray.
Netanyahu has sought to distance himself from the case, insisting that he only learned of the existence of the classified document from the media.
He has also denounced the Shin Bet for treating the suspects like “the worst terrorists,” and claimed that Israel’s security authorities were keeping vital information, such as the leaked document, from him. Netanyahu did not explain, however, why Feldstein, who allegedly received the document from the soldier in June, and leaked it to Bild two months later, did not give it to him.
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar denied and denounced the allegations, without mentioning Netanyahu by name, in a reported letter earlier this week.
