An Israeli army officer and former spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu’s office are among the suspects arrested as part of the ongoing investigation.
Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has granted permission to authorities to investigate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office for the leak of security documents, Israeli media reported on Friday.
The security scandal comes as Netanyahu’s government faces a series of political and security crises, including the dismissal of defense chief Yoav Gallant, which has sparked significant opposition and widespread protests in Israel.
The Hebrew Maariv newspaper said the approval by Baharav-Miara means that investigating authorities are also allowed to investigate Netanyahu.
MAARIV: The Attorney General approves the opening of an investigation into Netanyahu over the leaks in his office. After the attorney general’s approval, investigators can open an investigation against Netanyahu himself. pic.twitter.com/wJZsmvCKoQ
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 8, 2024
The requirement for the Attorney General’s approval to investigate suspicions against a prime minister “originates from Section 17 of the Basic Government Law, which stipulates that no criminal investigation shall be opened against the prime minister except with the consent of the Attorney General,” Maariv reported.
According to the law, if the investigation develops in a way that links the prime minister to security affairs, the investigators must halt the probe until permission to continue is received from the Attorney General, the report added. Following approval, the investigators may continue with investigative actions against the prime minister.
The Attorney General’s office, as well as the police and Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, refused to officially comment on the report, Maariv said.
Two Security-Related Cases
The report said investigations are currently underway into two security-related cases linked to Netanyahu’s office; one involves suspicion of the leak of classified documents and the other involves the suspected attempt to alter “protocols from the beginning of the war.”
‘Intelligence Leak’ Scandal Rocks Netanyahu’s Office – Close Aide Arrested
An Israeli army officer became the fifth suspect to be arrested in the investigation into leaked classified documents from Netanyahu’s office, Israeli media reported on Sunday. Another detained suspect was reportedly a former spokesman for the prime minister’s office.
‘Harm to National Security’
Last Friday, an Israeli Magistrates Court judge partially lifted a gag order on the ongoing joint investigation by the Shin Bet, police, and the army.
“The investigation began after significant suspicions arose in the Shin Bet and IDF — including as a result of media publications — that secret and sensitive intelligence information was taken from the IDF and removed illegally, sparking concerns of serious harm to national security and a danger to the sources of the information,” the court was quoted as having said by the Times of Israel.
Gallant Out, Katz In – Netanyahu Uses US Election Day to Reshuffle amid Israeli Chaos
“As a result, damage could have been done to the ability of defense bodies to achieve the goal of freeing the hostages (held in Gaza),” it reportedly added.
The documents were alleged to have been authored by Hamas, the Times of Israel said, and subsequently leaked to the German newspaper, Bild, and the London-based Jewish Chronicle.
The arrests and investigation have been described as possibly “the biggest scandal inside the Israeli government” since its genocidal war on Gaza began in October last year.
Opposition Slams Netanyahu
Following the initial reports of the scandal, opposition leaders slammed Netanyahu.
In a post on X, the leader of the opposition Yesh Atid party, Yair Lapid, said “The affair in the Prime Minister’s Office goes to the heart of the close relationship between the defense establishment and the prime minister and his aides.”
For Netanyahu, there’s nothing more important than controlling the narrative. Suspicions that he and his aides use classified material for their own needs are nothing new / Gidi Weitzhttps://t.co/scvmCuwnhu
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) November 4, 2024
At the same time, Israel’s National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz said in a post on X: “Without going into the details of the case under investigation concerning the activities of the Prime Minister’s Office, it is important to emphasize one thing – the Prime Minister is responsible for what happens in his office. For better or worse.”
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
70% of Gaza Victims are Children, Women – UN Slams Israel’s Unprecedented Level of Killing
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,508 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 102,684 wounded.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Women and Children
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
