Israeli Supreme Court keeps two suspects in BibiLeaks case in custody

Israel's Supreme Court ordered the continued detention of two suspects involved in the BibiLeaks affair, pending its decision on an appeal against their placement under house arrest, according to Haaretz.

Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara filed the appeal after a Tel Aviv court ruled to release Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman Eli Feldstein and an unidentified IDF reservist, who will remain in custody until next Monday instead of being placed under house arrest.

The BibiLeaks corruption scandal involving the Israeli prime minister has been rocking Israeli politics for months. Eli Feldstein has been accused of illegally obtaining and leaking sensitive military information in the hope of influencing public opinion and easing pressure on Netanyahu to make major concessions to secure the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza.

'Death to Gali Baharav-Miara'

Netanyahu himself has not been charged, but his supporters have accused prosecutors of conducting a politically motivated witch hunt amid a national emergency.

A Jerusalem resident was arrested on Wednesday for incitement to hatred after holding up a large placard calling for the death of Israel's attorney general, Israeli police said, as cited by Haaretz. Photographs of the man, dressed in traditional ultra-Orthodox clothing, began circulating on social media Wednesday evening.

In the footage, he is seen standing on a busy Jerusalem road holding a poster that reads: "Master of the Universe, kill Gali Baharav-Miara and his followers." Hours later, the Kan public broadcaster reported that the man had been arrested and that Israeli police would seek to extend his detention.

Gali Baharav-Miara is currently at the center of an intense controversy between Netanyahu and his coalition partners – who are seeking to remove her over her decisions on several sensitive cases, including Netanyahu's corruption dossier – and those who see her as a defender of democracy and the rule of law.

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.