The Tel Aviv District Court held another hearing on Thursday over the prosecution’s request to impose restrictions on Jonathan Urich, who is charged in the case of the document leak to Bild. The proposed conditions would bar him from entering the Prime Minister’s Office and from contacting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Judge Ala Masarwa pressed the prosecution on why the limits were needed now, so long after the events. The prosecutor said the hearing was brought forward because a three-and-a-half-week gap without restrictions was too long, and argued that Urich poses a high risk and could seriously harm the case through witness tampering or other obstruction. Masarwa replied that the restriction was not part of the case at first, was later added, and then expired, saying there is now a difficult dynamic in reviving it. He also said the concern over obstruction was strongest when investigators first came to Urich’s home, and that after a year and a half it is hard to accept that the danger has returned.
The prosecution countered that Urich had already shown he could obstruct an investigation, citing his claim that he changes phones every six months when records showed he changes them about every two years, and that he “coincidentally” switched phones the day after Eli Feldstein was arrested. It also said he hid the key evidence. The prosecutor stressed that this is an indictment carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and that the earlier lifting of restrictions happened only because of the wartime situation.
The court also heard that investigators tried after the war to take Netanyahu’s testimony, but he refused. Masarwa noted that Urich was with Netanyahu during the most sensitive security period and later asked why restrictions should now be imposed. Defense lawyer Amit Hadad criticized the accelerated hearing and asked, “What can Urich already do? Walk around with a knife?” The prosecution also confirmed a Channel 13 report that Urich’s version conflicts with Netanyahu’s over Eli Feldstein’s role. Feldstein says he was subordinate to Urich, while Urich told investigators he was not the person who approved matters with the prime minister.
