Former security chiefs say leaked classified material harmed national security in Orich case

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told police that the leak of classified documents to the German newspaper Bild seriously harmed Israel’s national security. Their testimony was given in the so-called “night meeting” affair, in which investigators suspect that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, summoned Eli Feldstein to a parking lot at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv and told him he could “shut down” the investigation.

Bar and Halevi were questioned to help identify the source of the leak to Braverman. In their testimony, they said the disclosure endangered intelligence sources and strengthened the prosecution’s case against Jonathan Urich, who was added yesterday to the amended indictment alongside Feldstein and reserve soldier Ari Rosenfeld, the one who allegedly passed him the classified material from military intelligence.

Urich is charged with passing secret information with intent to harm state security, passing secret information, possessing secret information, and destroying evidence. Prosecutors argued in court that he poses a serious risk of obstructing justice, saying he deleted evidence by formatting his phone after Feldstein’s arrest. They said that if they had had the full evidence when the original indictment was filed, they would have sought to keep him in custody until the end of proceedings.

At a hearing on the prosecution’s request to impose restrictions on Urich, the state also argued that his close ties to Netanyahu raise fears of coordinated testimony, and said Netanyahu’s refusal to testify in the case works in Urich’s favor. Prosecutors said they may contact the bar association over a possible conflict of interest involving attorney Amit Hadad, who represents both Urich and Netanyahu in the corruption cases.

The request to bar Urich from the Prime Minister’s Office and forbid contact with Netanyahu was rejected yesterday by District Court Judge Ala’a Masarwa, a ruling that drew anger from law-enforcement officials. Hadad responded that Urich had faced no restrictions for three and a half months, had been speaking with Netanyahu and running the Likud campaign, and now was being asked to be removed again. He said the state’s conduct showed “clear bad faith” and accused prosecutors of being entirely political.