Judge gives all clear for Netanyahu aide Feldstein to be sent to house arrest

Judge Ala Masarwa of the Tel Aviv District Court says that Eli Feldstein, the key defendant in the Prime Minister’s Office classified documents leak scandal, can now be released to house arrest.

The decision comes after the Israel Prison Service’s (IPS) electronic tagging unit stated in a feasibility paper that electronic tagging is possible for Feldstein. Masarwa had given the IPS until Thursday to submit its position, but it filed its submission early.

The decision comes following a Supreme Court decision earlier today rejecting the state’s appeal against the Tel Aviv court’s ruling earlier this month that Feldstein could be released to house arrest.

It is not fully clear when exactly Feldstein will be released from detention, although a spokesperson for the IPS says it typically takes only a few hours for its electronic tagging unit to make the necessary arrangements at the address where the individual will remain under house arrest after the court issues its decision.

Under the terms of his house arrest, Feldstein is prohibited from using a telephone or electronic communication of any sort, and the Supreme Court ruled that security services are entitled to intercept any form of communications he might conduct if they suspect that he is violating the terms of his house arrest.

Masarwa also bars Feldstein from leaving the country and orders that he surrender his passport within 48 hours through a designated third-party guarantor.