Prosecutors reportedly intend to charge PM’s chief of staff over 2024 Bild leak affair

Israeli prosecutors reportedly intend to charge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, over the 2024 leak of classified documents to the German Bild newspaper. Braverman is suspected of meeting with the chief suspect to inform him of the investigation and offering to quash it. He faces charges of fraud, breach of trust, and obstruction of justice.

Israeli prosecutors reportedly intend to file an indictment against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, for his role in the 2024 leak of classified documents to the German Bild newspaper. Braverman is suspected of holding a clandestine nighttime meeting with Eli Feldstein, the chief suspect in the affair, to inform him of the investigation and suggest he could quash it if connected to Feldstein. Feldstein and Jonatan Urich, a senior media adviser to Netanyahu, have already been charged with transferring classified information with intent to harm state security. The leaked document was an internal Hamas memo obtained by IDF intelligence, ostensibly showing Hamas was not interested in a hostage deal, and was leaked to bypass Israel's military censor. Media reports indicated Bild distorted the file to serve Netanyahu's interests, bolstering his claim that Hamas was blocking a hostage deal. Braverman appeared for a hearing last month, after which Justice Ministry officials expressed intent to indict him for fraud, breach of trust, and obstruction of justice. He has been unable to take up the post of ambassador to the UK due to the allegations and is also under investigation for forgery and fraud related to altering records from October 7, 2023.