Netanyahu Advisor's WhatsApp Messages Leaked Online, Lawyer Threatens Lawsuits

A large cache of WhatsApp conversations belonging to Yonatan Urich, a close advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has allegedly been leaked online, sparking significant controversy on social media, particularly on X, among journalists and media professionals. Among the thousands of messages, attention has been drawn to conversations with Channel 12 journalist and commentator Amit Segal. Urich has threatened legal action, stating that approximately ten lawsuits are imminent.

The leak may be connected to a previous report by the newspaper Haaretz, which revealed that Urich had developed an AI-powered tool using Claude to monitor the internet for mentions of names and events, sending summaries to its creator. This tool was exposed after a security vulnerability was discovered, and reports suggest its origin is the United Arab Emirates. The authenticity of the leaked messages has not been confirmed. The leak is centered on a website designed to resemble the Telegram app, with the identities of its operators unknown. The site aggregates messages Urich sent in recent months to various individuals in Netanyahu's circle, including communications advisor Topaz Lok, media personality Yaakov Bardugo, and journalist Amit Segal. The names of Benjamin Netanyahu, Sara Netanyahu, and Yair Netanyahu also appear on the site, alongside other key figures like Netanyahu's advisor Nevo Katz, though conversations with them are reportedly to be published later.

In response, Urich initially posted an AI video on X targeting Gadi Eisenkot with the caption "Eisenkot was hacked." Subsequently, his lawyers, Amit Haddad and Noa Milstein, issued a formal statement: "Whoever hacked Yonatan Urich's WhatsApp and published personal conversations, adding and altering them, will pay the full price. The same will happen to anyone who publishes, distributes, or shares these messages. Doing so is a criminal offense, and a personal lawsuit will be filed against them." Urich further tweeted, "Let's set things straight. 10 lawsuits are on the grill. From now on, everyone who tweets gets a 5% discount, just for the courage. Be available, I'm here," adding that some messages had already been deleted. He also posted about initial lawsuits filed against individuals who published the website and screenshots of the conversations.

Amit Segal addressed the incident on Channel 12, explaining the nature of journalistic information gathering. He stated, "The event is very simple: I know it sounds strange, but journalists don't get information because of their beautiful turquoise eyes, certainly not me. They get information within a very delicate tango between the surveyed and the surveyor, between a source and a journalist. And this can include an exchange of information. You give information and receive information, and also an exchange of opinions, where many people I've covered over the years have given me draft speeches, said 'this is going to be our campaign, what do you think?'" When asked by Keren Marziano if a line had been crossed, Segal replied negatively, adding, "I think if someone's phone is hacked and their life is emptied, there is nothing more terrible and awful, criminal." He declared, "I am personally announcing that if my phone were hacked and conversations published, I would chase down everyone who uploads it to Twitter." He concluded, "I sincerely hope no other campaign manager's or campaign staff's phone in these elections will be hacked. But if they are, I promise you one thing, he is not the only one. From the Arab parties to the ultra-Orthodox, from Eisenkot to Ben Gvir, in each of those whose phones are hacked, similar conversations will be found, if not identical, if not, God forbid, more far-reaching."