Ex-IDF chief and former Shin Bet head say Bild leak harmed national security

Former IDF chief Herzi Halevi and former Shin Bet head Ronen Bar told police that the leak of the so-called Hamas document to the German newspaper Bild damaged Israel’s national security because it endangered the intelligence sources used to obtain the document, according to Channel 13. Their testimony was given in the investigation into the “late-night meeting” involving Tzachi Braverman and Eli Feldstein in a parking lot at the Kirya military headquarters, a case that grew out of the Bild leak affair.

The article said Bar and Halevi were summoned to help police identify the leaker to Braverman, who is now suspected of fraud, breach of trust and obstructing justice. Their testimony, which linked the leak to risks for intelligence sources, was said to bolster the prosecution’s theory in the case against Yisrael Hayom journalist Orich, though the source does not explain this further.

On Thursday, prosecutors said Yonatan Urich had been added as a defendant in the case involving the leak of classified documents to Bild. Urich, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, joined Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman in Netanyahu’s office, and Ari Rosenfeld, a reservist in Military Intelligence, who are already indicted.

The indictment says publicizing the secret information across major media outlets and repeatedly echoing it over days and weeks exposed Hamas to Israeli intelligence capabilities, could harm state security and the work of security agencies, and could endanger human life, especially during wartime. Also on Thursday, the Tel Aviv District Court rejected prosecutors’ request to immediately bar Urich from Netanyahu’s office and from contacting witnesses, including Netanyahu. Judge Ala Masarwa said that request would be heard later, after the evidence is handed to the defense.