Police question Netanyahu's spokesperson concerning classified document leak

This is just part of a slew of investigations launched into the Prime Minister's Office in the last few weeks.

 Yonatan Urich, adviser of Leader of the Opposition and head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu seen before a press conference of Leader of the Opposition and head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on October 3, 2022. (photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)
Yonatan Urich, adviser of Leader of the Opposition and head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu seen before a press conference of Leader of the Opposition and head of the Likud party Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on October 3, 2022.
(photo credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)

Yonatan Urich, the spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was questioned under caution by the police concerning the leak of classified documents to the German newspaper Bild, Channel 13 News reported on Friday.

This is just one of a slew of investigations launched into the Prime Minister's Office in the last few weeks.

This case is part of an earlier investigation into Netanyahu's chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, into whether phone records from the morning of October 7 were altered.

The police investigation into Urich began after police questioned Braverman for five and a half hours on Thursday, in which he told them that he had attempted to alter the time Netanyahu had received the first call about the Hamas attack, from 6:40 a.m. to the time the attack began 6:29 a.m., according to Ynet.

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs was also reportedly questioned by the police, with his testimony contributing to the decision to question Urich.

 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) speaks with Cabinet secretary Tzachi Braverman during the weekly government conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on June 17, 2018.  (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL)
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) speaks with Cabinet secretary Tzachi Braverman during the weekly government conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on June 17, 2018. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/POOL)

Braverman is accused of attempting to blackmail the military secretary to make the changes; however, the secretary refused to lead Braverman to change the times himself.

Following this, he is accused of accessing personal information about the officer with the intention of using it to keep them from reporting the incident.

Office culture

Fuchs is under investigation separately for making illegal threats against a Labor Ministry accountant to force him to approve financial transfers to families for daycare subsidies, including to haredi families whose fathers had not reported for IDF service and were therefore illegible, according to a charge by the attorney general's office.

Another serious investigation into the PM's Office is that of Eliezar Feldstein, who is accused of leaking documents that harmed the chances of a hostage deal.

Feldstein is accused of selectively leaking documents from the PM's Office in order to shape public opinion against a hostage deal.


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He was hired by the PMO soon after the start of the war but failed the Shin Bet's vetting process and was therefore not officially employed at the PMO. Despite the lack of employment status, he was still a strong presence at official events, having been photographed at numerous events attended by Netanyahu.

Eliave Breuer, Tovah Lazaroff, and Shir Perets contributed to this report.