Exclusive: Netanyahu Aide Arrested for Leaking Top-Secret Information, Identified

חשיפה: אלי פלדשטיין, אחד מדוברי נתניהו, נעצר בחשד שהדליף לעיתון הגרמני “בילד” מסמכים מסווגים

Last September, I published an exclusive story concerning a leak of top-secret Israeli intelligence materials by Bibi Netanyahu to the German publication Bild and the UK publication, Jewish Chronicle (JC):

…Netanyahu leaked fabricated Hamas documents obtained by an IDF intelligence unit, AMAN. The documents purported that Yahya Sinwar rejected any ceasefire deal and that he was attempting to escape Gaza. They also claimed that Hamas planned to smuggle Israeli hostages out of Gaza via the Philadelphi Corridor and transfer them to Iran.

The “reporter” who wrote the JC story, Elon Perry, wasn’t a journalist and had largely falsified the few credentials on his bio.  The Bild stories were written by its deputy foreign editor, who probably obtained it from Perry. When I reported that the claims in the JC story were largely fabricated along with Perry’s questionable pedigree, it.  Other elements of the leaked material is authentic, but judged by Israeli intelligence to be of no value.

Israeli intelligence was livid that someone (inside the PMO’s office) leaked fake information which the media alleged claimed originated with it. It was equally disturbed by the leak of authentic documents, despite being judged of little worth.  They were highly restricted because their exposure might harm Israeli intelligence methods and sources.  The army then launched an investigation to determine who was the leaker. Today’s story is the result.

The leaker IDed

Tikun Olam can report based on two sources, that the Netanyahu aide who leaked the story is Eli Feldstein, his security advisor.  He is Haredi, with close ties to the radical settler movement. He has, according to a social media report, been arrested (more on this below).  He was appointed to his post four days after the 10/7 attack. He was appointed to wage a no-holds-barred media war on the IDF planting Bibi’s narrative that the army failed the nation.  The arrest could be payback for his relentless role as Bibi’s attack dog.

The source below reports that he failed repeated lie detector tests and had failed the security background check before his appointment. Though the PMO was prohibited from appointing him, Netanyahu did so anyway:

כותב את הדברים הבאים הבאים בשיא הרגישות ובחרדת קודש.
יש בלשכת ראש הממשלה מרגל. לא מרגל שעובד עבור מדינה זרה, אלא מרגל שעובד עבור ראש הממשלה.

תפקיד המרגל היה להפיץ מיידע סודי לכלי תקשורת זרים שאינם כפופים לצנזורה. ראש הממשלה (נתניהו בעצמו באמצעות שלוחיו ולא אף אחד אחר – והוא… pic.twitter.com/bCPbHX0ppR

— Ami Dror 🇮🇱 עמי דרור (@AmiDror) October 31, 2024

Reporting critical details of the scandal is prohibited under a police gag order, which could be lifted in a court hearing Sunday.  This post may impact that decision.  If a media outlet has already exposed the material under gag, there is little justification for continuing it.

Lifting the veil of secrecy and opacity is one of the main purposes of this blog.  An Israeli publication and Netanyahu himself have appealed for lifting the gag.

In a possibly related story, Israeli journalist Michael Shemesh reports (video here) that two other senior Netanyahu aides, chief of staff Tzahi Braverman and the political affairs aide, Jonathan Urich, have met with attorney, Amit Hadad.  The latter represents Netanyahu in one of the criminal cases he faces.  Hiring Hadad brings the scandal closer to Bibi himself. But it also guarantees that his aides’ legal interests align with his.  If they had independent counsel they could turn on him, as a former chief of staff did.

A third unnamed “senior official” also attended the legal consultation.  Shemesh also reports the several aides (likely those named above) have been fully or partially suspended from their roles.

This tweet, referring to Feldstein, suggests there is a “spy” in the prime minister’s office.  :

כותב את הדברים הבאים הבאים בשיא הרגישות ובחרדת קודש.
יש בלשכת ראש הממשלה מרגל. לא מרגל שעובד עבור מדינה זרה, אלא מרגל שעובד עבור ראש הממשלה.

תפקיד המרגל היה להפיץ מיידע סודי לכלי תקשורת זרים שאינם כפופים לצנזורה. ראש הממשלה (נתניהו בעצמו באמצעות שלוחיו ולא אף אחד אחר – והוא… pic.twitter.com/bCPbHX0ppR

— Ami Dror 🇮🇱 עמי דרור (@AmiDror) October 31, 2024

Another element of the scandal concerns the prime minister’s military security aide who’s accused of leaking photos of IAF war planes en route to attack targets in Iran.  He did so while the planes were still in the air and before they had reached their target.  This was highly restricted information under military censorship. It exposure could have endangered the entire operation and rendered the pilots and planes vulnerable.

Political warfare

The background to the scandal concerns a battle between the military-intelligence apparatus and Netanyahu.  The latter understands that the nation has been enraged by the massive intelligence failure on 10/7. The PM never acknowledges responsibility for such incidents. In order to avoid accountability, he invariably blames others. In this case, he has laid blame at the doorstep of the IDF and Shin Bet.  It’s possible that the appointment of Feldstein, who had inside IDF sources and had criticized the army leadership, was meant to strengthen the campaign to blame the army for the security failures.

Defense minister Yoav Gallant is also in Netanyahu’s crosshairs.  The former has consistently criticized the prime minister. Bibi even fired him, until the resulting public furor forced him to relent.  Gallant has publicly said the goals of the war against Hamas and Hezbollah have been met and it’s time to end the fighting, agree to a ceasefire and release of Israeli captives.  Netanyahu bristles at the minister’s perceived impudence.  He wants a forever war in order to stave off the corruption cases he faces.  This is a key element of the trench-warfare between the two important figures.

By the way, the spy agency chief, Ronen Bar is reportedly considering resigning because much of his authority has been usurped by former terrorist and current police minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.

The tweet confirms that the the PMO “spy” (allegedly Feldstein) leaked top-secret information to Bild and JC:

בשעות האחרונות מתפרסמת פרשת ריגול חדשה אבל הפעם לא מאזרחים לאיראן, אלא מתוך הממשלה והדרג המדיני. אספנו את כל השמועות והחשדות מהרשתות והרמזים מעיתונאים, והנה הפרטים הידועים עד כה: בחודש האחרון פורסמו בכלי התקשורת “בילד” הגרמני ו”ג’ואיש כרוניקל” הבריטי, מסמכים כביכול של חמאס עם… pic.twitter.com/PF4CCfM9KK

— daniel amram – דניאל עמרם (@danielamram3) October 31, 2024

Political tug of war

Netanyahu has often leaked such highly sensitive intelligence, against the wishes of the army and Shin Bet, to the public in order to burnish his image.  They rightly claim that he does so to take credit for their achievements, and rarely if ever offers credit to them.  They also charge him with exposing the intelligence methods used to obtain the materials he leaks.

This brewing scandal is pushback from key national security bodies against Netanyahu’s campaign to foist blame on them.  It is also an implicit attack on the prime minister himself via his key aides.  It’s possible that investigators are attempting to link him directly to the leaks.  This would add even more legal headaches than the Israeli leader already faces.