Top Netanyahu aide faces criminal charges over security leak 

Israel’s attorney general has announced that a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could face criminal prosecution over allegations of leaking highly sensitive military intelligence with the intent to harm national security. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said yesterday that Jonatan Urich, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, may be indicted following a criminal hearing. He is suspected of collaborating with Eli Feldstein, a former military spokesman, to leak classified information in two separate incidents, including the unauthorised release of an intelligence document to a German newspaper.

Feldstein has already been indicted for leaking classified material to Germany’s Bild, while Urich now faces possible charges of possessing and distributing secret documents, harming national security and destroying evidence. The prosecution alleges that the pair deliberately extracted information from Israel’s military intelligence system and passed it to foreign media in an effort to shape public opinion in Netanyahu’s favour.

The leaked material, reportedly detailing Hamas’s position in hostage negotiations, was said to have been published days after the killing of six Israeli hostages by Hamas in Gaza in August 2024. The document, classified at the highest level, was allegedly intended to portray Hamas as unyielding, thereby discouraging further negotiations and reducing pressure on the prime minister.

“The release of classified information by Urich and Feldstein was intended, among other things, to influence public opinion regarding the prime minister, and to shift the discourse at the time regarding the murder of the six hostages,” said the attorney general’s office.

In another scandal, both men had earlier been arrested on suspicion of accepting payments from Qatar to promote the Gulf state’s image in Israel. Qatar, often seen by Israelis as a backer of Hamas, is also a key intermediary in ceasefire talks relating to Gaza. Netanyahu has given a statement to police in the Qatargate matter, but is not a suspect. He has dismissed the case as politically motivated.

Also facing potential indictment is Kobi Yaakobi, head of Israel’s Prison Service and a close ally of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Yaakobi is accused of tipping off another senior officer, allegedly loyal to Ben Gvir, about a pending investigation into his cover-up of Jewish nationalist violence.

The announcement of the possible charges comes at a politically charged moment. A government-appointed panel is set to meet today to consider removing Baharav-Miara from office. Although no formal link was drawn between the indictments and the panel hearing, Urich’s lawyers and coalition allies have claimed the timing was intentional.

Urich’s legal team, Amit Hadad and Noa Milstein, rejected the charges against their client. "Our client never possessed and never transmitted a classified document and definitely didn’t harm national security," they said. “This announcement is not coincidental. His innocence will be proven beyond doubt.”

Middle East