Feldstein to be released to house arrest, Supreme Court rules

Eliezer Feldstein, the main suspect in the PMO leak scandal, is to be released to house arrest, but the non-commissioned officer who is the second defendant in the case will remain in custody, High Court Justice Alex Stein ruled on Monday.

The ruling thus partially accepted the state prosecution’s appeal against a regional court judge’s decision to release both defendants to house arrest.

Stein increased oversight over Feldstein’s house arrest, approving the use of an electronic tracking device, as well as granting law enforcement the right to listen to his electronic devices in order to ensure that he does not attempt to contact other people involved in the case.

According to the indictment, which was filed on November 21, the NCO in April sent Feldstein a picture via the Telegram messaging app of a top-secret document, believing it to be imperative for the prime minister to receive directly. Feldstein did not immediately pass on the document.

At the beginning of September, he attempted to leak its contents to Israeli media, to counter mass protests that broke out after six bodies of recently executed Israeli hostages were retrieved from Gaza.

Leaked to foreign media

According to the indictment, after the Israeli military censor explicitly prohibited its publication, Feldstein leaked it to a foreign media outlet.

Stein explained his decision to differentiate between Feldstein and the NCO regarding house arrest: Feldstein had already passed on all of the top-secret information he had obtained and therefore was not a threat to pass on additional information.

The NCO, however, who worked in an intelligence unit that had access to many top-secret documents, was still a threat to divulge further information, and therefore could not be released from custody.