The American website Axios reported that the arrest of four individuals, including Eli Feldstein, spokesperson for Netanyahu, is at the center of what is considered the most significant scandal in the Israeli government since the onset of the war.
[4] The scandal supports earlier reports that Netanyahu was determined to block any ceasefire deal to avoid facing trial, early elections, and accountability for the significant security lapse during the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel.
[7] Benny Gantz, who had until recently been part of Netanyahu's war cabinet, said at the same event that if sensitive security information was used for a "political survival campaign”, it would not only be a criminal offence, but "a crime against the nation".
The foundation of evidence, which has allegedly accumulated in this serious case currently being investigated by the Shin Bet, indicates that the prime minister’s inner circle acted in a way that harms national security with the aim of thwarting the return of the hostages.
A government that abandoned citizens who became victims of cruel kidnappings is effectively working to defame them and harm public opinion regarding the duty to return them – as if they were the nation’s enemy.
The damage it caused extends beyond the realm of national security and gives rise to suspicion that the prime minister's bureau acted to scuttle a hostage deal, contrary to the war’s objectives.