Netanyahu Criticizes Leaks Of Secret Documents, Lapid Opposition Leader: If True, He Is Not Eligible To Lead Israel

Yair Lapid. (Wikimedia Commons/Spokesperson unit of the President of Israel/Haim Zach)

JAKARTA - The alleged leak of classified information from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), shows Benjamin Netanyahu was not too competent to lead Israel during the war period or "involved in one of the most serious security breaches" recorded.

That was said by Opository Leader Yair Lapid in a joint press conference with National Unity chairman Benny Gantz in Tel Aviv, shortly after the Court of Magistrat Rishon Letzion withdrew an arrest order at the appointment of Eli Feldstein, the main suspect in the case.

Netanyahu's defense shows he has no influence or control over the system he leads. If that's true, he is not eligible. He is not eligible to lead the State of Israel in the toughest war of its history," Lapid said.

"This case emerged from the Prime Minister's Office, and the investigation should check whether it was not on the order of the prime minister," he continued.

"If Netanyahu finds out, he is involved in one of the most serious security breaches in the law," said Lapid.

And "if he doesn't know that his close aides stole documents, operated spies inside the IDF, falsified documents, uncovered intelligence sources, and provided classified documents to foreign newspapers to stop hostage-taking transactions, what does he know?" he said.

Israeli investigators are examining four separate issues in this case: a leak of classified documents; allowing advisors without security clearance to access meetings and offices that should be banned for him; negligence in handling classified documents; and using documents to influence public opinion on hostage-taking transactions.

"He doesn't know the person he brought as part of his closest entourage to the bunker in Kirya, to the cabinet room, for the most secret discussion, hasn't received a security clearance from the Shin Bet yet?" asked Lapid not to believe it. The prime minister had previously stated that he was not aware of any overcrowding issues on Mount Meron or anything about alleged abuses surrounding the purchase of submarines for the Israeli Navy, Lapid added, referring to the two previous scandals.

"Now he claims that he has no idea what his office is doing while Israel is in the midst of an existential war," he added.

Meanwhile, Gantz, former war cabinet member Netanyahu told reporters before his party left government, "I say political considerations have penetrated Israel's security holy place" and now "we have reached the stage of proof." "Contrary to the impression they were trying to create at the Prime Minister's Office, this is not (the case of) suspicion of leakage but about profiting from state secrets for political purposes," he said.

"If sensitive security information is stolen, and becomes a tool in a political survival campaign, this is not only a criminal offense, but also a national crime," he continued.

"This should not be used as material for discussion about the impact of leaked information or who leaked the most. The theft of classified intelligence information by officials at the Prime Minister's Office is a black line, a point," explained Gantz.

"We have seen a leak about sensitive negotiations regarding the issue of hostage-taking at crucial times," Gantz said, adding the current scandal "warns us of the urgent need to form a commission of state investigations" over events surrounding Hamas invasions and massacres on October 7, 2023.