Senior Netanyahu aide detained amid probe into leaked military files

Israeli police said that "a senior official in the Prime Minister’s Office" was detained for questioning on Jan. 11 as part of an inquiry into leaks of classified military intelligence, and that the suspect "is currently being questioned under caution." Although the police statement did not name the individual, Israeli media identified him as Tzachi Braverman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff and the government’s nominee to be Israel’s next ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Investigators from Lahav 433, the national unit that handles major crimes and corruption, carried out the detention and brought the official to the unit’s Lod headquarters for questioning. Media reports say officers searched the official’s home and seized a mobile phone, and that Omer Mansour, a spokesperson in the Prime Minister’s Office, was summoned to give testimony. Prosecutors and the Israel Security Agency, known as Shin Bet, have been reported to have coordinated on parts of the investigation.

The detention has been publicly linked to probes into the September 2024 leak of a classified Israel Defense Forces document to the German tabloid Bild. A former Netanyahu aide, Eli Feldstein, was arrested and indicted in connection with that leak; reporting has said he has alleged that Braverman sought to obstruct the investigation. Authorities have described the wider inquiry as overlapping with what some have called the "Qatargate" matter, which examines whether aides were recruited or paid by agents linked to Qatar to influence foreign media narratives during the Israel–Hamas war. Qatar has acted as a mediator in hostage negotiations and hosts senior Hamas figures, a fact that complicates the diplomatic context.

Police and intelligence investigators have reportedly examined a range of potential offences, including contact with a foreign agent, bribery, fraud, breach of trust and money laundering. Some files have been forwarded to prosecutors for review, and earlier court decisions have extended employment and detention restrictions on other aides implicated in the probe.

The government faces an immediate diplomatic complication because the detained official has been designated to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom. Opposition leader Yair Lapid urged that the nomination be suspended, arguing that a representative under suspicion of obstructing a security investigation should not be sent to London. The governing Likud party characterized the questioning as a "campaign of persecution" and a "phishing attempt" against the prime minister and his staff.

Legally, the action on Jan. 11 was a detention for questioning rather than the filing of formal criminal charges. That distinction leaves open several procedural paths: prosecutors could seek indictments if they judge the evidence sufficient, or the inquiry could expand to include other officials. For now investigators appear focused on tracing the chain of disclosure and any efforts to impede the probe.

Beyond immediate courtroom outcomes, the episode deepens political fissures at a sensitive time for Israeli diplomacy and security. If the ambassadorial nomination is halted or withdrawn it could strain relations with the United Kingdom and complicate coordination on intelligence and policy during an ongoing regional crisis. The case also underscores enduring tensions between wartime secrecy, internal political loyalty, and the role of external mediators such as Qatar in the region’s fraught negotiations.