Become a Member
Israel

Netanyahu denounces leaks investigations and arrests as ‘witchhunt’

He calls aide Eli Feldstein, who was charged last week, a ‘patriot’

November 24, 2024 12:29
Netanyahu Getty 2173926209
Bibi Netanyahu at the United Nations in September 2024 (Photo: Getty Images)
1 min read

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced investigations into his office over the leak of classified documents as a “witch-hunt”.

In a video on Saturday evening, he also defended his aide Eli Feldstein — who was charged on Thursday over an alleged security breach along with an unnamed IDF reservist — as a “patriot”, according to the Times of Israel.

The charges mainly relate to the theft of a document reportedly revealing Hamas intransigence over the hostages from an IDF database which was leaked to the German newspaper Bild.

The motivation behind the leak was allegedly to influence Israeli public opinion against an immediate hostage deal in Gaza shortly after the bodies of six murdered hostages were discovered in late August.