In the “the Bild case,” investigation, fresh evidence presented in the Tel Aviv District Court has potentially complicated the narrative around the role of both former military spokesman Eli Feldstein and senior adviser in the Prime Minister’s Office Yonatan Urich.
A hearing was held on Sunday on a motion by Feldstein to ease his house-arrest conditions, during which his lawyer, Oded Savoray, laid out an interpretation of new WhatsApp-message evidence that, according to him, shows a hierarchical relationship in the PMO communications chain.
Based on this interpretation, Feldstein reported to Urich, and then Urich exercised direct operational control.
For example, the defense highlighted an exchange in which Feldstein wrote to Urich: “I forwarded to [Channel 12 reporter] Yaron Avraham. Make sure there are no embarrassments – you approved it.” Urich answered: “I approved.”
The lawyer said that this is consistent with the notion of Urich being Feldstein’s “boss,” and that the communications were subject to Urich’s supervision and ultimately routed through him rather than directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At one point, the court was shown portions of Urich’s interrogation in which he asserted he “never employed Feldstein” and claimed Feldstein was not subordinate to him.
This was a claim that the investigators challenged, citing numerous message threads containing directive content sent by Urich to Feldstein.
Simultaneously, part of the defense’s strategy is to point to testimony by Netanyahu, as cited in the hearing, that he had no “interface” with Feldstein, did not recall having one-on-one conversations with him, and only “from time to time saw him around” the PMO office.
“Feldstein cannot claim he worked with me personally,” Netanyahu was quoted as telling investigators.
Nevertheless, the text messages suggest that every “official communication to the press” required the prime minister’s approval, or at least were represented as such by Urich when questioned.
Urich allegedly directed Feldstein to prepare briefing questions, coordinate with particular journalists, and even hold back communications following major security events, such as Israeli strikes or Iranian missile attacks.
One WhatsApp message from Urich to Feldstein reads: “Don’t do anything – the prime minister requested we don’t touch this yet.”
Only three classified documents were in question
The defense for Feldstein is arguing that since only three classified documents were in question, and seeing as so much time has elapsed, the justification for his strict custodial conditions (even under house arrest) has diminished.
This investigation sits at the intersection of the Bild case (where Feldstein is accused of leaking a classified document to the German daily Bild) and the wider “Qatargate” scandal involving Urich and suspected payments from Qatar.
Allegedly, Feldstein actualized the transfer of classified information “with intent to harm the state” in a move that may have interfered with hostage‐negotiation efforts during the Israel-Hamas War. The courts have, in recent months, intervened to prevent Urich returning to the PMO.
The court has scheduled further hearings to examine the depth of the WhatsApp evidence, the chain of command, and how the documents entered the media domain.
In light of what they describe as a “clear directive chain,” prosecutors appear to oppose easing Feldstein’s house‐arrest conditions.
Urich, meanwhile, remains under restrictions from returning to certain roles in the PMO pending further decisions.