Judge extends detention of suspects in PMO leak case until further notice
Eli Feldstein and unnamed NCO accused of leaking classified materials are cheered by dozens of supporters outside courthouse
The remand of two men accused in the alleged leak of classified intelligence information to the foreign press was extended Wednesday until further notice as they face trial.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Eli Feldstein and an unnamed IDF reservist were charged last week with crimes relating to their alleged involvement in the case.
Feldstein was charged last week with transferring classified information with the intent to harm the state — a charge that can carry a sentence of life in prison — as well as illicit possession of classified information and obstruction of justice.
Feldstein is accused of leaking to the German newspaper Bild a document stolen from an IDF database by the other defendant, an IDF noncommissioned officer (NCO), in a bid to sway public opinion against a truce-hostage deal in Gaza. Feldstein allegedly received the document in June, and leaked it after six hostages were murdered by their Hamas captors at the end of August, when public criticism of Netanyahu’s handling of negotiations on a hostage deal spiked.
The unidentified NCO was charged with transferring classified information, an offense that is punishable by seven years in prison, as well as theft by an authorized person and obstruction of justice.
He and Feldstein have been held in custody for over three weeks, part of the time without access to legal counsel. Wednesday’s hearing was the first time they had been brought before a court, according to Walla.
Judge Ala Masarwa of the Tel Aviv District Court eased some restrictions on the suspects, allowing them 10 phone calls and access to personal items. He also decided to extend the gag order on some details of the case that are currently censored.
Dozens of protesters gathered outside the court during the hearing to support Feldstein and the NCO, Walla reported. The demonstrators held signs and chanted “We are all Eli Feldstein” and “Today it’s Eli Feldstein, tomorrow it’s you.”
Feldstein has found support from backers of Netanyahu, who view the case against him as an effort to harm the premier.
Speaking after the decision, the NCO’s lawyer Uri Corb said the prosecutors’ claims against his client are inexplicable, adding, “The ground here will shake after the gag order is lifted. To think the state wants to detain this person until the end of proceedings and even after October 7 — it shows we might have not learned anything and won’t learn anything.”
Meanwhile, United Torah Judaism lawmaker Yitzhak Pindrus gathered signatures from dozens of lawmakers and ministers for a letter intended for President Isaac Herzog requesting that Feldstein and the NCO be pardoned.
“The current reality in Israeli society requires extra precautions,” the letter reads. “The continuation of legal proceedings against [Feldstein and the NCO] constitutes a serious threat against social cohesion at this critical hour for the State of Israel. Considering the pure intentions of the accused, who acted for the sake of Israel’s security, and their extraordinary dedication to the people of Israel, we call to weigh granting a full and one-time pardon for these young people.”
Prosecutors allege that in leaking documents to the media, Feldstein acted not for Israeli security but to serve Netanyahu’s political interests as he faced criticism for the failure to reach a hostage deal.
On Sunday, Netanyahu published a nine-minute video supporting Feldstein and claiming the accusations against him are unwarranted and hypocritical. Netanyahu himself is not a suspect in the case.
The Bild report on the leaked document highlighted Hamas’s ostensible strategy regarding the hostages, and Netanyahu cited it after its publication as reinforcement of his refusal to sanction a deal to end the war in return for the release of the hostages.
Prosecutors have noted that the charge of intent to harm state security requires only proof that the accused foresaw a near certainty that their actions would result in harm to national security, which, they argue, Feldstein did.
