The Hostages and Missing Families Forum requested to join as a side to the criminal case against Yonatan Urich, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged acts that were tied to the murders of six hostages in Hamas captivity last August.
“His actions were not inconsequential; they directly and immediately endangered the lives of hostages at the time,” wrote the Forum in its letter to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, State Attorney Amit Aisman, and Central District Criminal Prosecutor Haim Wismonsky.
Legally, victims of an attack can be given the opportunity, under specific circumstances, to express their position before relevant authorities in the criminal case. That is the Forum’s request.
Baharav-Miara announced earlier this week that the prosecution is considering criminal charges against Urich, the lead suspect in the investigations into Qatari influences on figures close to the prime minister.
The charges considered include: the unlawful disclosure of classified information with intent to harm national security, possession of classified information, and destruction of evidence. This is concerning what is known as the “Leaked Documents Affair,” in which former Prime Minister’s Office military affairs spokesman Eli Feldstein allegedly leaked classified military documents to the German tabloid Bild, after permission for their publication was denied by the Israeli military censor.
The documents were eventually published, allegedly to sway public opinion on the hostage negotiations. This was around August 2024, when six hostages were killed by their Hamas captors in a tunnel: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarusi, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, and Alex Lobanov.
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The connection between the intentions behind Urich’s actions and calls for an immediate deal that would free the hostages cannot be severed, argued the Forum.
Negotiations are currently in progress, along with Qatari, Egyptian and American mediation. Two hundred and fifty-one people were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, by Hamas-led terrorists. Fifty remain in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, over a year and a half later.
“If Urich’s actions had an effect on hostage negotiations, the hostage families have a right to be part of the criminal process,” wrote the Forum.
The goal of joining is to “uncover the truth and prevent the obstruction of future deals.”
Urich said in response, in a Twitter/X post, "Returning our hostages is not a matter of Right and Left - it is the most important goal that is shared by all."
"I always worked towards this goal - and there are many witnesses to that... It is unfortunate that a small number of hostage families are being dragged into a political play," he added.