Netanyahu selectively investigates security leaks, reporter alleges

Journalist Ronen Bergman has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of selectively pursuing investigations into security leaks, targeting only those that politically damage him while permitting the release of classified information beneficial to his interests. Bergman alleged that Netanyahu has illegally assumed the authority to declassify sensitive documents, treating them as if he possessed a magical power to render them unclassified.

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One hand is leaking, and that same hand is ordering the investigation.

Speaking with 103FM, Bergman addressed a New York Times report detailing an alleged Mossad attempt to recruit former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He noted that the report was based on European, Iranian, and American sources and had received approval from Israeli censors, despite questions about whether publishing such details served Israel's security interests.

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Netanyahu has appropriated an authority that he does not have under the law, the authority to declassify any information.

Bergman criticized what he described as a pattern of security leaks originating from the Prime Minister's Office. He stated that the same hand allegedly leaking information is also ordering investigations, suggesting a deliberate manipulation of security disclosures. He further alleged that efforts are underway to intimidate journalists and discourage them from reporting on the prime minister's actions, contrasting the alleged suppression of reporting by Channel 12 with the continuous publication of information by Channel 14.

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The role of the press is to shine a light on the dark corners and ask how we became entangled in this affair.

Bergman asserted that the press has a crucial role in exposing such matters, stating, "The role of the press is to shine a light on the dark corners and ask how we became entangled in this affair." He rejected the notion that Netanyahu has inherent rights to disclose sensitive information independently, emphasizing that such actions are illegal.

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There is a hand operating here that is trying to intimidate journalists and discourage them from doing their jobs, so that, God forbid, they do not publish what the prime minister does not want published.