Israeli media outlets on Thursday said they have requested that the Central District Magistrate’s Court lift a gag order over reports that would cause “massive disruption” in the Prime Minister’s Office.
In response, the Prime Minister’s Office asked that the gag order over reports about the office be lifted.“The ongoing ambiguity serves as a cover for deliberate and malicious slander against the Prime Minister’s Office,” it said.
This comes amid reports that in recent months, the office had employed a spokesperson who failed security clearance but was exposed to and handled highly classified materials despite not holding the appropriate clearance.
The individual was reportedly employed in the Prime Minister’s Office from the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War as the spokesperson for Director-General Yossi Shelley, but who simultaneously served as a spokesperson on security issues, working with diplomatic and military reporters.
The individual did not have the highest security clearance required to handle the most classified materials or to enter the prime minister’s “aquarium,” according to the reports.
Furthermore, his employment terms were unclear, as in recent months, he was no longer employed as a regular staff member of the Prime Minister’s Office, they said.
The Prime Minister's Office also said they did not have any leaks, but that "there were actually dozens of leaks published in the media in Israel and abroad that revealed details about hostage release negotiations, from secret meetings in the cabinet and other sensitive forums - and this was done without anyone being investigated."
The National Unity Party also responded to the PMO's initial statement claiming there were no leaks of classified documents during the war, with party leader Benny Gantz saying their "Level of credibility: '3,000 ultra-Orthodox were recruited this year.'"
Gantz was also quoted by Israeli media saying that "Without going into the details of the case under investigation concerning the activities of the Prime Minister's Office, it is important to emphasize one thing - the Prime Minister is the one responsible for what happens in his office. For better or for worse."
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that "The prime minister is already trying, as usual, to distance himself from the matter and place responsibility on others, but the facts state the opposite: he is personally responsible for every paper, word, and information coming from his office."
Foreign reports allegedly based on classified intelligence information
In September, the German newspaper Bild and the British-Jewish newspaper The Jewish Chronicle published two reports allegedly based on classified intelligence information.
The Jewish Chronicle cited security sources as saying former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar planned to smuggle himself, along with other Hamas leaders and Israeli hostages, to Sinai via the Philadelphi Corridor. From Sinai, Sinwar intended to reach Iran, the report said.
The information was uncovered through the interrogation of a senior Hamas member and via documents seized at the end of August, the same day the bodies of the six hostages were found, The Jewish Chronicle said.
The Bild published a classified document, allegedly signed by Sinwar, outlining Hamas’s negotiation strategy.The Jewish Chronicle article has since been removed, but Bild’s report remains online.
The Central District Magistrate’s Court has scheduled a hearing for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. regarding the gag order.