Netanyahu slams 'witch hunt' in weekend video responding to leak investigation

In a 9-minute video released over the weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leveled some of his most severe charges regarding the handling of the document leak investigation.

In the video, Netanyahu said that along with fighting a war on seven fronts, “we are dealing with an endless stream of criminal leaks within Israel.” 

The prime minister said the investigation, which he called “a witch hunt”, has ignored “a flood of serious leaks, leaks that jeopardize the security of the state, endanger the lives of IDF soldiers, endanger the lives of our hostages, and intentionally harm the war effort I am leading as prime minister.” 

Netanyahu also slammed the handling of one of the principal subjects of the investigation, Eli Feldstein. 

Calling Feldstein “a true Zionist Israeli patriot”, Netanyahu said, “There is no chance in the world that he would do anything intentionally to endanger the security of the state.” 

He also criticized the arrest and detention conditions of Feldstein. He accused the Shin Bet, which is handling the detention of Feldstein and the other unnamed security officer, of treating the two “as the worst of terrorists, handcuffed for long days.” 

“But when masked men come to your door in the middle of the night, arrest you, isolate you, handcuff you, and threaten you with life imprisonment unless you give them what they want, a person can break,” Netanyahu stated. “He can confess to the murder of Arlosoroff [a Hebrew expression which means to admit to a crime he didn’t commit].” 

In the video, Netanyahu also casts blame on the security establishment, including the IDF, saying, “It is a highly classified document, why wasn’t it delivered to me? I need to make decisions based on this material, and I certainly should not be kept in the dark about it,” Netanyahu claimed. 

After it was leaked to BILD over the summer, the IDF said that the document was not considered important because similar intelligence had already been found and delivered to the government. 

Although he is not under investigation, Netanyahu said that while “this indictment was filed against them – its purpose is clear: to harm me, and to harm you – the millions of Israeli citizens who support the policy I am leading on your behalf.” 

The prime minister claimed that hundreds of other leaks were not investigated, despite his request to do so. After citing several examples, Netanyahu said, “Dear citizens of Israel, I could list countless other leaks here, day after day, hour after hour, sometimes live on air. In all of them, there is theft of information, theft of intelligence, and in many cases, theft of documents, given to others without authorization. Almost all of these leaks are directed against me, and they serve the narrative of surrender to the dictates of the enemy.” 

Among the leaks he cited was one to Channel 12’s “Uvda” [Hebrew for fact] program, which reported the Jericho Walls document, which detailed some of Hamas’ plans for what became the October 7 “Al Aqsa Flood” attacks. 

The case over the leaked documents has been highly controversial, with Netanyahu supporters accusing the state prosecutor, the security sector, and the media of engaging in a “witch hunt” against the prime minister. 

On Friday, the State Prosecutor’s Office took the unusual step of issuing a public rebuttal to accusations that it was selectively enforcing the law regarding leaked documents. In a three-page Q&A, the office stated and rebutted many concerns raised by Netanyahu and his supporters over the handling of the case. 

Feldstein, who originally requested the leaked document, and tried to have it published in Israel, was reportedly told by an aide to Netanyahu, “the boss is pleased” regarding the publication of the information. 

Feldstein and the unnamed NCO [noncommissioned officer] have been charged because the release of the classified material could have caused damage to Israel’s intelligence collection capabilities and even exposed sources. 

“Publication of the secret information in public, in media publications with broad reach, and the reverberations of the publication in the days and weeks afterwards, exposed to Hamas the intelligence capabilities of the State of Israel, which was likely to harm state security and the operational capabilities of the security services, and was likely to endanger lives particularly during wartime,” the indictment states in a summary of events. 

That harm to state intelligence capabilities is basis for the charges against them, and their investigation by the Shin Bet. According to records from the investigation, it is clear that Feldstein attempted to influence public opinion in favor of Netanyahu’s positions through the leak of the document. 

On Saturday evening, the lawyer for Feldstein, Oded Savoray told Channel 12 news that his client believed he was acting for Netanyahu by leaking the documents to the foreign press. 

The accusations by Netanyahu are his most serious and were quickly condemned by several public figures. 

Former Shin Bet head Yoram Cohen slammed Netanyahu’s insinuations against the security agency. 

“What is he saying to the thousands of staff at the Shin Bet working 24/7, in casting aspersions on the head of the service? This is inconceivable from a man who should be showing leadership!” Cohen stated. 

“I’m pained to say this, but this is abhorrent behavior by the prime minister,” Cohen added. 

Opposition leader Yair Lapid also condemned Netanyahu’s comments, saying the premier refuses to take responsibility for any disasters. 

“Benjamin Netanyahu presents: nine minutes and 15 seconds of lack of leadership and irresponsibility,” Lapid wrote on X. “He did not know, he did not hear, he is not involved. He didn't know about the Meron disaster, not about the October 7 disaster, not about what was happening inside his office. A prime minister who knows nothing and takes no responsibility for anything. Shame.”