Netanyahu looks to censor leaks from Israeli cabinet meetings

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to pass a law that would make it illegal for censorship to approve the publication of leaked conversations from cabinet meetings, he said in a cabinet meeting that was leaked and published by N12 on Sunday.

This comes after conversations from cabinet meetings have been leaked to the press multiple times throughout the war, causing outrage among the government.

Netanyahu claimed that the leakages endangered national security and said that he wanted censorship to ban their publication.

A couple of the conversations saw Minister Gadi Eisenkot from National Unity clashing with far-right ministers National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Decision comes amid leaked clashes between ministers

In one case, Eisenkot asked who was responsible for Gaza according to international laws of war to which Ben-Gvir responded, "Would you stop that? You've had three explanations on international law. Why do you keep going?"

In response, Eisenkot yelled at Ben-Gvir to shut up and said he wasn't talking to him.

In another conversation, Eisenkot was quoted as saying that retrieving the hostages was the war's central objective and was attacked by Smotrich.

"You're saying that again," said the finance minister. "That's not what we decided. It's not the central objective. The aim is to defeat Hamas."

Netanyahu was then quoted saying that they were parallel objectives.

Another conversation focused on giving fuel to Gaza as humanitarian aid, which most of the ministers objected to. After objections from Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, Energy Minister Israel Katz, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and Minister Benny Gantz, Netanyahu told them it was necessary for continued aid from the US.