Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s adviser, Yonatan Urich, requested an urgent court hearing on Wednesday after the prosecution obtained a warrant to access his mobile phone, specifically his WhatsApp application.
The warrant was granted as part of an investigation into the leak of classified documents to the German newspaper Bild. WhatsApp is owned by Meta, an international company headed by Mark Zuckerberg.
Urich was questioned under caution in November on suspicion of involvement in the case and was later released under restrictive conditions.
Meanwhile, police have also been investigating allegations that the prime minister’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, attempted to alter protocols from the first days of the war. This investigation was launched following a letter sent by former military secretary Maj.-Gen. (res.) Avi Gil to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, in which he claimed that alterations had been made to charts, attendance records, and official protocols.
A Supreme Court hearing on the classified documents case by Justice Alex Stein last month revealed that the attorney for Eli Feldstein, Oded Savoray, alleged that Netanyahu was involved in the leak of the sensitive Hamas-related document. According to Savoray, Feldstein had informed Netanyahu in advance of the expected publication of the document and even stated, “Urich and I will leak it.”
During the hearing, Savoray presented his client’s version of events, claiming that Feldstein had acted under the prime minister’s directive. He disclosed details of a conversation that allegedly took place between Feldstein and Netanyahu after a press conference addressing the murder of hostages.
“Feldstein whispered in his ear: ‘I have a document from my sources in Military Intelligence with the same content, but more up-to-date. Urich and I are working on getting it out,’” Savoray stated. After the document was published, Urich reportedly shared his reaction with Feldstein, writing, “The boss is pleased.”
Urgent request
Urich’s attorneys, Adv. Amit Hadad and Adv. Noa Milstein, have submitted an urgent request to the court to delay the execution of the warrant and to hold a hearing on the legality of this extraordinary measure. They argue that this effectively constitutes a search being conducted in the United States, in violation of US law and international law, akin to an unauthorized and illegal search in a foreign country without coordination or jurisdiction.
Meta’s global headquarters has yet to respond to the matter.
Hadad and Milstein stated: “The seemingly ‘innocent’ search warrant is an improper attempt by the Israel Police to circumvent numerous international legal frameworks. We demand an immediate and thorough court hearing to prevent this unlawful action, which lacks any legal authority – neither under Israeli law nor under international law.”