Israeli attorney general summons Netanyahu in classified documents leak probe

Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has decided to summon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to provide testimony in an investigation into the alleged leaking of classified documents, according to local media reports.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN reported that a date for Netanyahu’s testimony has not yet been determined.

Netanyahu is expected to answer questions regarding how information was obtained from his office as part of an ongoing case examining allegations that his chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, attempted to obstruct an investigation into the leak of confidential documents to the German newspaper Bild.

The attorney general granted police authorisation to summon Netanyahu for questioning.

A court-imposed confidentiality order concerning how the classified information was obtained prior to the leak remains in effect.

A secret meeting

Braverman was previously detained on suspicion of attempting to obstruct the investigation into the transfer of sensitive classified documents to foreign media outlets.

He is widely regarded as a central and influential figure within Netanyahu’s office, responsible for managing sensitive files.

As part of the same investigation, former Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein, who had earlier been arrested in the case, has also been summoned again to provide testimony.

In an interview with KAN on December 24, Feldstein alleged that Braverman summoned him late at night during the Gaza attacks to a secret meeting and offered him an agreement aimed at preventing a security investigation targeting the Prime Minister’s Office.

According to the investigation file, Feldstein allegedly attempted in 2024 to leak a classified document to Bild in order to influence public opinion against protests held during Gaza prisoner exchange negotiations.

Feldstein reportedly argued that the demonstrations were harming the negotiations and strengthening Hamas.