An Israeli newspaper revealed on Saturday that the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a new case related to his request to stop the army’s recording of the “War Council” meetings (before its dissolution), in a change to the protocols adopted during secret meetings and consultations.

Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said that the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a growing storm, surrounding a series of cases, some of which are under investigation.

She added that the suspicion now revolves around Netanyahu changing protocol in a sensitive and secret discussion, which dealt with preparing for international legal action against Israel in The Hague.

The newspaper explained that with the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, the meetings of the War Council (later dissolved) were held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, and the security establishment was responsible for recording the meetings.

At the time, the Israeli army said that recording sessions during the war was "necessary," but that explanation was not accepted by Netanyahu's office, which "directed the army to stop recording," according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

Thus, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office has changed the protocols for secret security meetings and consultations, according to the newspaper.

Netanyahu formed the "War Council" after the events of October 7, which included - in addition to him - the then-Defense Minister Yoav Galant, the former Defense Minister and head of the "State Camp" party, Benny Gantz, his party colleague, the former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and the Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.

On June 17, 2023, Netanyahu announced the dissolution of the council, a week after Gantz and Eisenkot resigned from it.

4 serious issues

Yesterday, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office was involved in four serious cases, one of which related to an attempt to change documents regarding early warnings before October 7 of last year.

The most serious of these issues are:

The case of leaking secret documents, which resulted in the arrest of 5 people, including an advisor in his office and a senior officer. The case relates to stealing information from the army and leaking it to foreign media outlets, with the aim of influencing public opinion regarding the prisoner exchange deal.

The second issue concerns attempts to change protocols on the war on Gaza, to influence any official investigation into the failures of October 7.

The third case concerns the efforts of officials in Netanyahu's office to blackmail a senior officer with a shameful video that fell into their hands, in exchange for additional secret information.

The fourth case concerns a videotape of former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, documenting his being prevented by guards from entering Netanyahu's office days after the war broke out.

Channel 12 reported that one of the cases in Netanyahu's office concerns an attempt to alter documents regarding early warnings. The channel also reported, citing a political official, that Netanyahu's men spared no effort to distance the prime minister from suspicion and remove everything that stands in the way.

This comes as Maariv newspaper reported that the Israeli government's legal advisor approved opening an investigation into Netanyahu over the leaks in his office.

The newspaper reported that after this approval, the advisors can open an investigation against Netanyahu himself.

The matter concerns two cases in Netanyahu's office, the first concerns suspicions of leaking secret documents, and the second concerns suspicions of attempts to change protocols since the beginning of the war. Maariv indicated that the attorney general, the Shin Bet and the police refused to address the matter officially.