A media-generated scandal has targeted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) and his office with allegations of security mismanagement and deliberate manipulation of sensitive information.
Judge Menaḥem Mizraḥi of the Rishon LeZion Magistrate’s Court partially lifted a gag order on the incident dubbed the “security affair” last Friday, revealing that several suspects had been questioned in connection with an ongoing investigation into the alleged leak of classified documents from someone in Netanyahu’s office.
Mizraḥi further confirmed that Israel’s military, police, and Shabak began the “open phase” of a joint investigation into a suspected “breach of national security caused by the unlawful provision of classified information.”
The alleged leaks led to reports in Germany’s Bild newspaper and Britain’s The Jewish Chronicle regarding Hamas strategies that support arguments put forward by Prime Minister Netanyahu in interviews and press conferences during the summer, when news outlets attempted to blame Netanyahu for torpedoing a hostage deal with unreasonable demands like Israeli control over the Philadelphi corridor.
The documents in question, found roughly eight months back in a tunnel once used by late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, validated the prime minister’s conviction that Hamas sought to smuggle Israeli hostages out of Gaza through the corridor.
The dramatic accusations from Israel’s security, media, and judicial establishments that someone in Netanyahu’s close circle leaked information that supposedly harmed the achievement of Israel’s war aims come in the wake of several recent military successes that have bolstered the prime minister’s popularity and seemingly thwarted efforts by the United States and Israel’s westernized elites to topple his government.
The “security affair” scandal is clearly a new attempt to weaken Netanyahu and lower his public standing.
Despite the exaggerated accusations against the prime minister from journalists and opposition figures, the documents vindicate Netanyahu’s positions while portraying those Israelis prioritizing a hostage deal above military victory as unwittingly serving the interests of Hamas. They reveal that Sinwar instructed Hamas operatives to share images of Israeli hostages in order to increase public pressure on Israel’s coalition and to spread the message that the war won’t help to free them.
The Sinwar strategy revealed in the documents was to portray Netanyahu as being primarily responsible for the war. They further identified Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) as a weak link in the coalition who could be pressured to support a ceasefire deal.
This psychological warfare strategy outlined in Sinwar’s documents has only been as impactful as it has been on Israeli society over the last year because it found unwitting allies in local Liberal Zionist organizations working in collaboration with Washington to destabilize Netanyahu’s coalition and bring the nation to new elections.
But the fact that Israel’s defense establishment suppressed and withheld the documents from the prime minister – documents that could have helped him politically – makes clear that the military is involving itself in politics.
The information being pieced together seems to indicate that someone in the defense ministry discovered the documents and leaked them to foreign journalists. Following their publication, Prime Minister Netanyahu held a press conference – with approval from the military censors.
Senior IDF officers were reportedly furious about the leak and requested that the Shabak investigate the matter. The focus of the investigation and its coverage in the press has predictably centered around the question of whether or not Netanyahu was involved.
But the real questions Israelis should be asking are:
1. Why would our military attempt to hide Sinwar’s documents from not only the public but also the prime minister?
2. Why would the security and judicial elites work so hard to shift the blame to Netanyahu.
The fact that Israel’s defense establishment suppressed evidence that would have justified Netanyahu’s determination to maintain Israeli control over the Philadelphia corridor makes it easy to conclude that powerful forces within the IDF could be party to US-led efforts to bring down Israel’s democratically elected government.
Rather than allow the media to focus blame on the prime minister, we should force the security establishment to justify its decision to withhold information that would have strengthened the nation’s resolve and helped the public to better understand the positions taken by its leadership.
