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Full coverage· Security· Updated

Amit Segal Responds to Yonatan Urich Leak: 'Testimony That Will Incriminate Me'

Alleged private WhatsApp conversations belonging to Yonatan Urich, a close advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, were leaked online on Sunday, appearing on pirate websites, Telegram, and WhatsApp. The leaked messages, which reportedly followed a security breach of Urich's phone, exposed communications with senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office, Likud party members, and journalists. Among the leaked materials were exchanges with Channel 12 commentator Amit Segal, which reportedly showed Segal discussing the Likud campaign and offering advice on improving Netanyahu's speeches.

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Amit Segal Responds to Yonatan Urich Leak: 'Testimony That Will Incriminate Me'
Illustration by baba

What happened

  1. 01Alleged private WhatsApp messages belonging to Prime Minister Netanyahu's advisor Yonatan Urich were leaked online on Sunday.
  2. 02The leaked communications reportedly showed Channel 12 commentator Amit Segal advising Urich on Likud's campaign and Netanyahu's speeches.
  3. 03Amit Segal defended the exchanges as standard journalistic practice, describing the reporter-source relationship as a tango involving opinion sharing.
  4. 04Segal condemned the phone breach as a criminal act and vowed to pursue anyone who disseminated his own private messages.
  5. 05Protest leader Shikma Bressler criticized Segal on social media, accusing him of acting as a mouthpiece for the government.
  6. 06Yonatan Urich's lawyers warned of legal action against anyone distributing the messages, claiming some of the leaked conversations were altered.

Speaking on Channel 12, Segal addressed the leak, describing the relationship between a journalist and a source as a delicate tango that involves exchanges of both information and opinions. He confirmed that over the years, many individuals he covered had provided him with draft speeches and consulted him on political campaigns. Segal condemned the phone breach as a terrible and criminal act, vowing that if his own phone were hacked and his messages published, he would pursue legal action against anyone who disseminated them. He suggested that similar or more extensive communications would be found on the phones of politicians across the entire political spectrum.

Following the leak, protest leader Shikma Bressler criticized Segal on social media, questioning his impartiality and calling him a mouthpiece. Meanwhile, Urich's lawyers, Amit Haddad and Noa Milstein, issued a warning against further distribution of the messages. They asserted that some of the leaked conversations had been altered or had details added, and warned that anyone publishing, distributing, or sharing the messages would face criminal charges and legal action.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 7 newsrooms. Updated

Latest report: Maariv. Read Maariv’s original

The coverage

7 newsrooms on this story

Who covered it

  • Left1
  • Centre1
  • Right3
  • Haredi1
  • ArabNone
  • Other1

How it broke

See which of the 7 newsrooms broke it, and who waited

How the headlines differ

MaarivCentre · the lead report

Amit Segal Responds to Yonatan Urich Leak: 'Testimony That Will Incriminate Me'

5 more newsrooms worded it differently