Fake document scandal reveals Israeli efforts to undermine ceasefire talks

 A scandal over fabricated documents allegedly leaked by an aide to Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed Israel’s efforts to sabotage Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

By Qassam Muaddi  November 4, 2024 

Israeli internal intelligence arrested four Israelis, one of whom works in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, on charges of leaking and falsifying classified documents concerning the ongoing war on Gaza, an Israeli court revealed over the weekend.

The fabricated documents allegedly leaked by one of Netanyahu’s aides were falsely attributed to the late Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar. The revelations of the recent fabrications repudiate Israeli propaganda claims of Hamas’s alleged intransigence in ceasefire negotiations throughout the war, especially during the last round of negotiations over the summer. During those negotiations, Netanyahu had insisted that Israel must maintain a permanent military presence along the Philadelphi corridor, a strip of land bordering Gaza and Egypt, because he claimed that Hamas was using it to smuggle weapons and supplies. At around the same time, the leaked documents falsely claimed that the Philadelphi corridor was to be used by Hamas to smuggle Israeli captives out of Gaza alongside Sinwar.

According to Israeli media reports, the main suspect in the leak affair, Eli Feldstein, works as a spokesperson at Netanyahu’s office. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office initially denied that any of its members had been arrested in the case, and later clarified that Feldstein is not an official employee but a private contractor who has been working with Netanyahu for the past year and a half. The clarification came after Israeli media outlets pointed out images and footage of Feldstein accompanying Netanyahu in government meetings and in field visits to sensitive military sites.

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These recent revelations offer further evidence that it was not Hamas that stood in the way of a ceasefire over the summer, but Netanyahu’s intransigence.

Sabotaging ceasefire negotiations

The leak case was classified by Israel’s military censor until the Israeli court revealed the name of the main suspect. According to Israeli reports that followed the easing of censorship, highly classified documents acquired by the Israeli army in Gaza were misquoted, misattributed, and selectively leaked alongside fabricated information to the media in a way that served Netanyahu’s purpose of sabotaging a potential ceasefire and captives exchange deal — in service of his agenda of prolonging the war.

Also read: Netanyahu’s latest strategy to avoid a ceasefire, explained

The leaked information reportedly included allegations of documented proof that Hamas did not want a ceasefire deal and that its leader, Yahya Sinwar, was preparing to smuggle himself and Israeli captives out of Gaza through the Philadelphi corridor, from which Netanyahu at the time was refusing to withdraw as part of any ceasefire deal. These claims were based on altered quotes from classified documents obtained by the Israeli army in Gaza, which were in turn falsely attributed to Sinwar.

The fabricated and leaked information was reported by the UK-based The Jewish Chronicle and the German-based Bild, which also reported based on the leaked information that Hamas was only engaging in ceasefire talks as a form of psychological warfare.

The stories that appeared in The Jewish Chronicle and Bild were published in July around the same time that Netanyahu was insisting on Israel’s alleged need to maintain control of the Philadelphi corridor, against the advice of Israeli army officials and Israeli intelligence. This intransigence on Netanyahu’s part is what caused the collapse of the ceasefire talks. The negotiations have not started up again since then.

Reactions

Reactions from the Israeli political scene were swift. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a televised statement that the news of the leaks should “scare every Israeli,” stressing that “if Netanyahu knew [about the leaks] then he is complicit in one of the gravest crimes in our laws.” The other Israeli opposition leader and former member of the war cabinet, Benny Gantz, also said in a statement that the case “is not only about leaking documents, but selling state secrets for political gain,” adding that “if sensitive security information was stolen and used for the campaign in a politician’s campaign, then it’s not just a penal crime, but a crime against the nation.”

Also read: Understanding Netanyahu’s endgame in the war on Gaza.

Although no formal accusation has yet been made against Netanyahu personally, Israeli media sources claim that the leaks are part of an unofficial policy among Netanyahu’s inner circle. Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot quotes an unnamed high-ranking Israeli security official who claims that Netanyahu’s office has an entire team secretly working to leak information whenever pressure increases on the Prime Minister to conclude a ceasefire deal.

The leaks have been seen by some analysts as part of an ongoing standoff between Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli army, which has been increasingly advocating for an end to the war on both Gaza and Lebanon’s fronts and the conclusion of a prisoner swap, while Netanyahu continues to insist on prolonging the war.

https://mondoweiss.net/2024/11/scandal-over-fake-documents-falsely-attributed-to-hamas-reveals-israeli-efforts-to-undermine-ceasefire-talks/