The Democrats MK Gilad Kariv was questioned by police at the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit offices on Monday after being suspected of leaking protocols from a confidential discussion held by the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in June 2023.
During the meeting, which took place on June 13, the committee members received a security briefing from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he called the warnings issued by defense officials regarding the judicial reform overhaul “exaggerated.”
That month was when negotiations to reach a compromise on the judicial reform collapsed, and the coalition resumed pushing for the unilateral passing of some of the legislation.
In classified meetings like these, phones are not allowed in the room. Allegedly, Kariv leaked the protocols to journalist Ben Caspit, who published the materials in Maariv in December 2023, five months after the original meeting.
Two months later, in February 2024, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) requested that Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara order an investigation into the potential leak, which she did.
Kariv addresses police summoning
A Knesset investigation was then opened, including witness testimonies and evidence, such as security footage. The investigation found that Kariv was the only person who viewed the protocols twice – the second time being close to the date of the leak.
The prosecution informed the High Court of Justice two months ago that it is investigating Kariv’s alleged leaks.The MK was summoned for questioning last week. At the time, Kariv said, “Right now, when Israel is in its most precarious security state since it was founded, the Likud is doing everything it can to destroy the opposition.”
He added, “I have never harmed Israel’s security. Additionally, throughout the war, and routinely, there were leaks from the cabinet, from the government, and from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee – leaks that directly harmed Israel’s security and the hostage negotiations.”
“These leaks are still happening,” Kariv noted, “with not one investigation opened into them.”
As reported by Ynet on Sunday, one such leak came from the prime minister. During his testimony to the police last week regarding the “Qatargate” affair, Netanyahu allegedly took responsibility for a different leak out of the security cabinet.
This effectively took the weight off of Yonatan Urich, who was suspected of revealing classified information in the case. Urich is one of several key suspects in Qatargate, along with Eli Feldstein and Israel Einhorn. The case concerns alleged ties between Qatari officials and figures close to the prime minister who worked in his office. Allegedly, the Qataris worked, through these individuals, to influence the public image of the Gulf state.
After the interrogation on Sunday, Kariv said, “I arrived for questioning like I said I would and in accordance with the law that everyone is bound by.”
“The origin point of the complaint is a political, revenge-driven spin by Ohana, the goal of which is purely to silence the opposition,” he added.
Kariv noted that all of the quotes in Caspit’s article were approved by the military censor and do not contain any sensitive information, “unlike the hundreds of leaks” from other gatherings.
The Democrats head Yair Golan said later on Monday, “This is an attempt to equate a leak and the fact that the prime minister admitted that he leaked classified information from a cabinet meeting. This is the holy of holies of Israel’s security; there is no room for equivalence.”