Channel 12 Commentator Amit Segal Addresses Leaked Personal Communications

Channel 12 commentator Amit Segal addressed for the first time on Sunday the leak of personal communications attributed to him and Prime Minister's advisor Yonatan Ourich. Segal explained during the Channel 12 news broadcast that relationships between journalists and sources sometimes involve exchanges of opinions, not just one-sided information transfer. He stated, "I want to give testimony here that will incriminate myself. He is absolutely not the only one." Segal elaborated that journalists receive information through a delicate "tango" between the source and the journalist, and that these relationships can include both information and opinion exchanges. He recalled that over the years, individuals he covered have given him draft speeches and consulted him on political campaigns.

When asked if a line had been crossed in the leaked communications, Segal responded negatively, drawing attention to how the material was obtained. "There is a breach, a breach of someone's phone and emptying their life is a terrible, criminal thing," he said. He added that if his own phone were breached and communications published, he would take action against anyone who disseminated them online. Segal warned of potential breaches of campaign staff and politicians' phones ahead of elections, suggesting that similar or identical communications to his own would be found on individuals from "Arab parties to Haredi parties, from Eizenkot to Ben Gvir." He further speculated that more extensive communications, "from both sides of the aisle," might also be discovered.