Khaberni - Channel 12 Israel reports the arrest of an independent Israeli journalist suspected of being involved in communicating with a foreign agent working for Iran, in a case described by the police as having a security nature.
The channel stated that the Jerusalem district police detained the journalist after suspecting his contacts with foreign parties, explaining that preliminary investigations indicate that unknown parties contacted him via social media, and asked him to document demonstrations of the Haredi Jews and to photograph streets in central Jerusalem.
The police requested an extension of the journalist's detention for 8 days to complete the investigation, but the magistrate's court agreed to extend his detention for only a few days, before deciding to release him to his home, following an appeal submitted by his lawyer in the central court, according to the channel.
For her part, the lawyer representing the journalist, Nati Rom, said that her client was the one who initially informed the Israeli police's cybercrime unit as soon as he was suspicious about the identity of the parties contacting him.
She added -during the court session- that her client completely refrained from any cooperation with these parties, even at the stage when he only had the slightest suspicion that they were hostile parties, emphasizing that his actions were motivated by caution rather than involvement.
Israeli police and the Shin Bet have previously announced -over the past months- the arrest of several Israelis on charges of spying for Iran.
Serious Security Investigation
In another context, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority revealed an investigation in a security matter described as "serious" and related to the use of sensitive security information, amidst suspicions of involving high-ranking officials in the Israeli security system.
The official authority stated that the authorities are following up on a secret investigation concerning suspicions of exploiting internal information originating from the security agencies, whether in the Shin Bet or the Israeli army, warning that developments in the case could have widespread implications.
The broadcast authority, citing sources familiar with the progress of the investigation -whom it did not name- stated that the extent of involvement and the nature of the use of security information are still under examination and scrutiny, in light of strict official secrecy due to the sensitivity of the case and the potential impact of its results on central security institutions.
The broadcasting authority did not disclose the names of the involved individuals or additional details, but noted that the investigation comes in the context of a series of similar cases that have included Israeli officials over the past months.
In January, the Israeli police detained Tsahi Braverman, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for questioning on suspicion of obstructing the progress of an investigation into the leaking of sensitive secret documents to foreign media.
The police also summoned Eli Feldeshtein, the former spokesman for Netanyahu, under suspicion in 2024 of handing a classified document to the German newspaper "Bild", in an attempt to influence public opinion in Israel against the demonstrations demanding a prisoner swap deal with the Hamas movement.
Investigations at the time showed that Feldeshtein also attempted to leak the same document to Channel 12 in Hebrew, but military censorship prevented its publication.
