Labor MK to be questioned on suspicion of leaking classified info from Knesset panel
Gilad Kariv says that unlike coalition lawmakers, he plans on cooperating with investigation into protocols leaked from Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in 2023
Police are set to question Labor MK Gilad Kariv on allegations that he leaked classified information from a closed-door hearing of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Kariv is expected to be questioned under caution next week.
In response, Kariv said in a statement that he “never harmed the security of the country,” and that, unlike some of his colleagues in the coalition, he fully intends to cooperate with the police summons.
He accused the Likud party of using its “poison machine” to “incite against the Israeli opposition” and said that throughout the ongoing war, there have been numerous leaks from the security cabinet, “and an investigation was not opened into a single one of them.”
During the meeting in question, on June 13, 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a classified security briefing to the committee members. MKs were not permitted to bring their phones to the meeting but leaks from it were published in December.
Last year, a statement from Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana’s office said he had contacted Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara after ordering his own internal Knesset probe that apparently pointed to Kariv as the culprit behind the leaks.
“Given that various criminal offenses were allegedly discovered,” Ohana said in February 2024, he had asked Baharav-Miara to “immediately order the opening of an investigation for an in-depth clarification of the incident and prosecution, as long as the evidentiary picture does not change during the investigation.”
Ohana said that “refraining from taking all legal measures will encourage and incentivize more leaks from more meetings,” harming state security and hampering the Knesset’s role “in maintaining proper supervision of the government and its institutions.”
He warned that if leaks are not investigated, such institutions will not “share secret information in the future.”
Ohana previously instructed Knesset security officials to look into the leak and an officer was tasked with handling the probe. The investigation took statements from witnesses, gathered evidence, and reviewed security camera footage from the meeting, his office said in its statement.
The probe found that the only person who looked at the meeting minutes from which the classified material was gleaned was Kariv, who reviewed the documents twice.
The probe found that Kariv used a highlighter to mark sections of the protocol that were later published. The committee administration also confirmed that it was the only copy of the minutes from the meeting and that it was provided to Kariv without any markings, the statement said.
According to Ohana’s statement, the case file stated that “officials and security bodies who come to the committee share valuable security information. It would be fitting for us to provide them with an appropriate platform to support this.”
The Times of Israel Community.