Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) at a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, November 1, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO); Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at a farewell ceremony for retiring acting Supreme Court president Uzi Vogelman, at the Supreme Court, in Jerusalem, October 1, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/ POOL/ File)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s announcement yesterday of pending criminal charges against Jonatan Urich, a top aide to the premier, calling the move “baseless and unfounded.”
“This is a baseless and unfounded move – meant to serve a different agenda, not the public interest,” writes Netanyahu on X.
“The disgraceful statement by the attorney general… especially at this particular time, is a miserable decision that raises serious concerns,” he says.
Pending a hearing, Urich faces charges related to allegations that he extracted classified documents from the IDF and leaked them to the press, together with another aide.
“I am familiar with the details, and I state clearly and unequivocally: there was no harm to state security. Jonatan did not harm state security,” continues the premier.
Baharav-Miara’s also announced pending charges against a senior police official connected to far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, in a series of dramatic legal moves just ahead of a controversial government panel hearing set to weigh her potential firing today.
Qatargate suspect Jonatan Urich attends a hearing at the Lod District Court on May 22, 2025. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)
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