Ex-Netanyahu Aide Admits Altering Protocol, Police Say Evidence Mounts

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ex-Chief of Staff, Tzachi Braverman, admitted during an investigation that he changed the time on a protocol documenting a phone call between Netanyahu and his then-Military Secretary, Maj. Gen. (res.) Avi Gil, on the morning of October 7. This admission aligns with statements made by Gil in a recent interview.

A senior police official told Channel 12 News that the police have compiled sufficient evidence to indict Braverman for forging the protocol. The investigation file was transferred to the State Prosecutor's Office over a year ago, but no decision has yet been made.

The investigation, which began in November 2024, was conducted by the National Unit for Serious and International Crimes. Investigators collected testimonies from dozens of individuals, seized documents, and obtained computer files. These included the original computer file with the exact time and a modified version altered with a marker. Evidence also reportedly shows Braverman's attempts to collect protocols, as detailed by Gil.

The police concluded their investigation after about a month and forwarded the case to the State Prosecutor's Office with a strong evidentiary basis for criminal charges. The prosecutor's office then passed the matter to the Attorney General for a decision, but over a year has passed without one.

This contradicts a statement released by the Likud party following Gil's interview. The party claimed the affair was investigated by the police two years prior and concluded with a recommendation to close the case due to lack of evidence. "Avi Gil's false blood libel about an alleged 'protocol forgery' by Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman was already investigated thoroughly by the police two years ago and ended with the police recommending to close the case because there is nothing in it," the party stated.

Gil, who woke Netanyahu on October 7, stated in his interview that in late October 2023, he learned of an unusual collection of protocols and transcripts from the Prime Minister's office, contrary to regulations. He subsequently contacted the Attorney General to clarify rules regarding protocol access and copying. A document was then circulated clarifying that protocols could be viewed with approval but not copied.

Gil also recounted that in January 2024, a stenographer told him she was instructed by Braverman to change the time of his October 7 call with Netanyahu from 6:40 AM to 6:29 AM. Gil described this as "a change of a transcript. It's a change of the truth." He informed the Attorney General at the time but asked her not to act due to the ongoing war. Gil suggested that any future investigation committee should examine original recordings, not just transcripts.