The Criminal Cases Surrounding Benjamin Netanyahu’s Advisers and Associates

The Bild Affair and the Late-Night Meeting

Eli Feldstein and Yonatan Urich were indicted in the affair involving the classified document published in the German newspaper Bild; Urich was added to the indictment on June 11, 2026. Feldstein and a reservist in the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Information Security Unit had already been indicted on November 21, 2024. According to the prosecution’s account, former chief of staff Tzachi Braverman learned of the secret investigation and met with Feldstein at night; Braverman himself denied Feldstein’s account. In May 2026, it was reported that there was an intention to indict Braverman, subject to a hearing.

Additional Investigations

Braverman was also questioned under caution on suspicion that he tried to change, in the official record, the time of Netanyahu’s call with the military secretary on the morning of October 7 — from 6:40 a.m. to 6:29 a.m. He claimed that he had corrected an error because an earlier call had indeed taken place at 6:29 a.m.; in July 2025, the police transferred the materials to the prosecution, but the source does not present any published decision regarding this incident. Urich and Feldstein also appear as suspects in the “Qatargate” affair, and Urich admitted that he received money from Qatar and claimed that the payment concerned work related to the FIFA World Cup.

A Fugitive and the Questioning of an Official

Former election adviser Yisrael Einhorn was declared a fugitive in January 2026. Because he did not return to Israel, proceedings in the case concerning the alleged harassment of state’s witness Shlomo Filber were stayed on May 15, 2026. Drorit Steinmetz, who previously served as acting director general of the Prime Minister’s Office, was questioned under caution in January 2026 in the May Golan affair; her response to the suspicions presented to her was not found in the source.

State’s Witnesses and the Meaning of the Different Statuses

Three of Netanyahu’s former associates — Ari Harow, Shlomo Filber, and Nir Hefetz — signed state’s witness agreements in the prime minister’s trial. This status means cooperation with the investigation, but in itself does not prove the guilt of others. Similarly, questioning under caution, suspicion, an intention to indict following a hearing, and an indictment that has already been filed are different stages of criminal proceedings and are not equivalent to a conviction.

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