Stolen, Distorted, Leaked:

A national-security scandal implicating figures close to the prime minister is roiling Israel. 

Officials allegedly leaked classified, manipulated IDF documents to foreign media: the UK-based Jewish Chronicle and the German tabloid Bild. Based on this questionable leaked intelligence, in September these outlets published inaccurate stories that benefitted Netanyahu politically. 

What was the faulty intelligence?

On Sept. 5, the Jewish Chronicle reported that Hamas intended to smuggle hostages out of Gaza through the Philadelphi Corridor—citing an interrogated captured Hamas official and Hamas documents seized by the IDF.

Israel’s defense establishment, including the IDF spokesman, have publicly refuted the story. Its author, Elon Perry, appears to have a largely fabricated resume. 

On Sept. 6, Bild reported that Hamas was uninterested in ending the war and was maintaining the negotiations largely as psychological warfare to ratchet up Israeli domestic pressure on Netanyahu. The tabloid cited a Hamas document from Sinwar’s computer.

Contrary to how it was framed in the Bild report, this Hamas document was written by lower-ranking Hamas operatives and did not represent the terror group’s official position.

How did this serve Netanyahu?

Netanyahu has argued Israel can’t give up control Philadelphi under any circumstances—a condition he added to Israel’s ceasefire proposal against the opinion of the security establishment, and an obvious non-starter for Hamas.

A day after he suggested in a speech to foreign media that Hamas could smuggle hostages across Philadelphi, the Jewish Chronicle report perfectly validated his claim and was amplified by those in his orbit.

Netanyahu has faced mounting criticism, including from his own security chiefs, that he has deliberately scuttled the negotiations with Hamas to prolong the war for political reasons. At the same time, he claims to want a deal. The Bild report suggests Hamas as the primary obstacle, giving Netanyahu political cover and allowing him to frame the security establishment as undermining him. 

The investigation and arrests

The case remains under a partial gag order. Five suspects have been arrested so far. Only one suspect’s name has been published: Eli Feldstein, a spokesman for the prime minister who previously worked for far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Feldstein is accused of having taken and leaked classified intel from an Aman (IDF intelligence) database. He was apparently working in the prime minister’s office despite having failed a polygraph and having been denied a security clearance. 

Why is this significant?

Allegedly, this classified information wasn’t just leaked; it was stolen—from the IDF, by someone without clearance in the Prime Minister’s Office—as part of a coordinated effort to shape Israeli public opinion. 

According to Channel 12, the Shabak is investigating whether there is a wider scheme at play allowing unapproved individuals to access classified intelligence across various agencies, including Aman, the Shabak, and the Mossad.

Will it hurt Netanyahu?

Netanyahu has not been named as a suspect in the case, nor has any information been revealed suggesting he ordered the leaks. Even if that doesn’t change, the Israeli public may still hold him accountable for such a significant security breach apparently happening under his watch—particularly one that benefited him. 

But this story is unlikely to do much more than temporarily dent Netanyahu’s poll numbers. Israelis already have plenty of reasons to disapprove of Netanyahu. Politicians and supporters who have stuck by him through criminal indictments, rounds of elections, constitutional upheavals, and the worst security failure in the country’s history are unlikely to be swayed by yet another scandal.