Judge: Insufficient evidence for assertion that Feldstein intended to harm state security

Tel Aviv District Court Judge Ala Masarwa says prosecutors have presented insufficient evidence for their contention that Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, intended to harm national security when he leaked to the press a top-secret IDF document dealing with a potential Gaza hostage deal.

At a hearing on Feldstein’s potential remand, Masarwa says he has concluded that “sufficient apparent evidence has been presented for this stage of the proceedings regarding the charges of illicit transferral of classified information and its publishing in the media.

“However, I have found weakness in the evidence for the charge of transferring classified information with the intent to harm the state,” the judge says, referring to the most serious charge, which can carry a sentence of life in prison.