Hostage families 'astounded' by PMO efforts to halt deal amid leaks scandal

The statement came a day after the declassification of details in an ongoing investigation into a document leak that may have damaged hostage deal talks.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF NOVEMBER 18, 2024 13:13 Updated: NOVEMBER 18, 2024 13:19

L-R: Eliezer Feldstein, a suspect in the leaked PMO documents case, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (illustrative) (photo credit: Canva, MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST, YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH 90)

The Hostages Families Forum expressed "astonishment" on Monday after new details in the Prime Minister's Office's leak investigation implied that said leaks could have prevented a hostage deal.

"The Hostages Families Forum is astounded by the depth of the ongoing efforts by those close to the Prime Minister to obstruct a hostage deal and Israel’s supreme moral obligation to bring back those who were abducted on and before October 7," the forum said.

The statement came a day after the Rishon Lezion Magistrate Court allowed the declassification of details in an ongoing investigation into  Eliezer Feldstein, a spokesperson who works for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The declassified details refer to the leak of a "Top Secret" and sensitive document, whose exposure could harm both the achievement of one of the war’s objectives (hostage release) and the operational activities of the IDF and Shin Bet in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and in additional contexts.

"The serious actions attributed to the suspects in this affair carry critical implications for the ultimate moral demand to secure the return of all hostages following the murderous bloodshed inflicted on defenseless Israeli civilians," the Forum's statement continued.

Families of hostages protest for a deal in Tel Aviv 400 days after the October 7 attacks. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)

"The Families' Headquarters remains steadfast in its sole demand, rooted in the principles of human and Jewish morality on which the State of Israel was founded: there is no price too high for the mitzvah of redeeming captives. The state must pay the necessary costs to bring back all the hostages—those alive for recovery and the fallen for burial in their homeland."

"The hostages’ time is running out. Now is the time to bring them home," the statement concluded.

Weakening public opinion for a deal

The newly declassified information also revealed that Feldstein and another suspect would be indicted for allegedly leaking top-secret documents to convince Israel that the hostage protests were strengthening Hamas.

Declassified details of the investigation allege that Feldstein first leaked the information to Israeli media outlets, who were barred from publishing it by the IDF censor due to potentially severe security damage that could occur as a result.

Once the story didn't go out, Feldstein allegedly leaked the documents to foreign media outlets.

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While the foreign media in question is not mentioned by name, it almost certainly refers to a report in the German tabloid newspaper Bild, which published an article that fits the description above on that exact date.

The court document, with the new information, was released following an appeal by a number of Israeli news organizations to lift the gag order.

“On September 6, 2024, foreign media published an article about Hamas’s positions regarding negotiations for the release of hostages. This article included the use of classified materials and documents that were illegally taken from IDF intelligence systems,” the court document read.

Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.