JERUSALEM

The main suspect in security leaks involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has been placed under surveillance to prevent his possible suicide, prison authorities said Monday.

“Guards found something in the cell of a security inmate held at a southern prison that necessitated…his immediate transfer to a cell where he could be monitored to prevent a suicide,” the Department of Corrections said.

Israeli media identified the detainee as Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman and aide to Netanyahu.

Feldstein is accused of stealing and leaking classified documents to foreign media, with an indictment expected to be brought against him on Thursday, according to Israeli media.

Israeli Channel 12 said a rope was found in Feldstein’s prison cell.

According to investigations into the case, Feldstein obtained classified documents from an Israeli army officer and another soldier, both of whom have been arrested and are being questioned.

Israel’s public service channel KAN said Feldstein leaked classified documents to foreign media to influence public opinion regarding a prisoner swap deal with Palestinian factions after he failed to leak the documents to local media due to military censorship.

The investigations also found that the main suspect used an intermediary to leak the documents to foreign media.

The charges against Feldstein include publishing highly confidential documents to influence public opinion in Israel regarding the prisoner swap deal with Palestinian factions in Gaza.

The investigations revealed that Feldstein acted illegally after the deaths of six Israeli hostages in August, sparking widespread protests against Netanyahu’s government.

He tried to change the public narrative by blaming slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for sabotaging the potential deal and holding him responsible for the hostage’s death, KAN said.

In early November, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported that the Shin Bet’s domestic security agency was investigating the leak of classified documents to the German newspaper Bild two months ago after the hostage’s death.

At the time, Hamas announced that the hostages were killed by Israeli army fire and repeatedly accused Netanyahu of sabotaging efforts to reach an agreement on a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal in Gaza.

Israel has been waging a genocidal war, now in its second year, on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 43,900 people and injuring nearly 104,000 others.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

*Written by Ahmed Asmar

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