TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli court on Sunday relaxed a silence order in a case investigating leaks of classified information believed to involve one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s media advisers. Critics say the leaks were aimed at giving Netanyahu political cover as ceasefire negotiations in Gaza stall.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, downplaying the matter and publicly calling for an end to the silence. Netanyahu said the person in question “never participated in security discussions, was not exposed to or received classified information, and did not take part in secret visits.”

On Sunday, an Israeli court allowed the publication of the name of the main suspect in the case, Eli Feldstein, who Israeli media reports said was one of Netanyahu’s media advisers. Israeli media say the case involves the leak of classified information to two European media outlets, allegedly by Feldstein, who may not have been officially employed and did not have security clearance. Media reported that Feldstein joined Netanyahu as an advisor weeks after the October 7, 2023, attacks and previously worked as an advisor to far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The court did not release the names of three other suspects who are also being investigated in connection with the leak.

The leaked documents allegedly formed the basis of a widely discredited article in London’s Jewish Chronicle: which was later removed – suggesting that Hamas planned to evacuate the hostages from Gaza via Egypt, and an article in the German newspaper Bild claiming that Hamas was presenting the negotiations as a form of psychological warfare against Israel.

Israeli media and other observers expressed skepticism about the reports, which appeared to support Netanyahu’s demands at the talks and absolve him of responsibility for their failure. Netanyahu made no mention of the matter during a visit to Israel’s northern border with Israel on Sunday, according to a video released by his office.

These articles were published as Netanyahu called for lasting Israeli control over the Philadelphia Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt bordera request that was first made public over the summer. Hamas rejected the request and accused Netanyahu of deliberately sabotaging the negotiations, which took place mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt.

The articles also appeared to provide political cover as Netanyahu faced intense criticism from the hostages’ families and much of the Israeli public, who blamed him for the failure to reach a deal. The criticism reached its peak in early September, with mass demonstrations and calls for a general strikeafter Hamas killed six hostages as Israeli troops closed in on them.

A court document confirmed that an investigation by the police, military and the Shin Bet domestic security agency is underway and that a number of suspects have been detained for questioning. He said the affair poses “a risk to sensitive information and sources” and “harms the achievement of the objectives of the war in the Gaza Strip.”

The leak led to a scandal at the Jewish Chronicle, where prominent columnists resigned in protest at the discredited articles. The London newspaper deleted the article in question as well as others written by an independent journalist, saying it was “dissatisfied with some of its assertions”.

The Bild article suggested that Hamas was not serious about negotiations and was using psychological warfare to inflame Israeli divisions. Netanyahu cited it in a meeting with his cabinet after its publication.

He again defended the article in a statement released over the weekend, saying it had “exposed Hamas’s methods of exerting psychological pressure from home and abroad on the Israeli government and public by accusing Israel over failed talks to free hostages.

Netanyahu sought to blame Hamas, whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the war, for the failure of the talks. Hamas, who still holds dozens of hostagessaid he would only release them in exchange for a lasting ceasefire, a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas says these demands did not change after the assassination of its senior leader Yahya Sinwarlike the United States, Egypt and Qatar seek to relaunch negotiations.

Netanyahu, often described by critics as obsessed with his image, is on trial for corruption in three separate casestwo of which involve accusations that he granted favors to media moguls in exchange for positive coverage.

His office downplayed the latest case and accused the judiciary of bias, citing numerous other leaks during the war. He also denied that the leak in question had any impact on the ceasefire negotiations.

“The document only contributed to the efforts to repatriate the hostages, and certainly did not harm them,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on Saturday, adding that it only became aware of the document when it had been made public.

His critics say the allegations are much more serious.

Yoav Limor, writing in the pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom, called it “one of the most serious cases Israel has ever seen.”

“The damage caused goes beyond the realm of national security and raises suspicion that the Prime Minister’s Office acted to defeat a hostage deal, contrary to the aims of the war. »

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