Main suspect in Israel leak scandal placed under watch to prevent possible suicide: Report

JERUSALEM

The main suspect in security leaks involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has been placed under watch to prevent his possible suicide, prison authorities said on Monday.

“Wardens found something in the cell of a security prisoner held in a jail in the south that necessitated…his immediate transfer to a cell where he could be monitored to prevent a suicide,” the Prison Service said.

Israeli media identified the prisoner as Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman and aide to Netanyahu.

Feldstein is accused of stealing and leaking classified documents to foreign media, where an indictment is expected to be filed against him by Thursday, according to Israeli media.

Israeli Channel 12 said that a rope was found in Feldstein’s prison cell.

According to investigations into the case, Feldstein obtained classified documents from an Israeli army officer and another soldier, both of whom are under arrest and being interrogated.

The Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Feldstein leaked the classified documents to foreign media to influence public opinion regarding a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian factions after he failed to leak the documents to local media due to military censorship.

The investigations also found that the main suspect used an intermediary to leak the documents to foreign media.

The charges against Feldstein include publishing highly confidential documents to sway public opinion in Israel regarding the prisoner swap deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

The investigations revealed that Feldstein acted illegally following the death of six Israeli hostages in August, which triggered widespread protests against Netanyahu’s government.

He sought to change the public narrative by blaming slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for sabotaging the potential deal and holding him responsible for the hostage deaths, KAN said.

In early November, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the Shin Bet domestic security agency was investigating the leak of classified documents to the German newspaper Bild two months ago following the hostage deaths.

At that time, Hamas announced that the hostages were killed by Israeli army fire, and repeatedly accused Netanyahu of sabotaging efforts to reach an agreement for a Gaza cease-fire and hostage swap deal.

Israel has continued a genocidal war, now in its second year, on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 43,900 people and injuring nearly 104,000 others.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar