Tzachi Braverman, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff and ambassador-designate to the U.K., filed an appeal on Monday against a ban barring him from leaving Israel and entering the Prime Minister’s Office while he is under police investigation.
Braverman “was forced, late at night, to agree to the conditions of his release,” his attorneys wrote on Monday in the request to the Rishon Letzion Magistrate’s Court, which will hear the appeal on Wednesday.
He was detained at his home in the central city of Ness Ziona on Sunday for questioning by officers of the Israel Police’s National Major Crime Unit (Lahav 433).
Braverman was questioned for around 13 hours following suspicions that he obstructed an investigation into the leaking of classified military files to the German Bild daily, Ynet reported.
The affair involves the passing of a classified document from the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate to Eliezer Feldstein, who worked as a communications adviser for the prime minister.
The document, obtained from the computer of a mid-level Hamas commander, outlined the terrorist group’s strategy for a hostages-for-ceasefire deal. According to the file, Hamas did not want a deal.
The document, provided by Feldstein to Bild, became the basis of a Sept. 6, 2024, story in the German newspaper, which reported that Hamas’s goal in hostage talks was to buy time to rebuild its terror capabilities, “exhaust” Israel’s military and “exert psychological pressure” on the captives’ families, who would, in turn, pressure the government to make concessions.
The leaked document came at an opportune time for Netanyahu, who faced increased public pressure after the bodies of six hostages were discovered in a tunnel complex in Khan Yunis, the southern Gaza Strip, on Aug. 31, 2024. They were found to have been murdered at point-blank range by their captors.
Police questioned Braverman on Sunday about Feldstein’s recent claims that the chief of staff had summoned him to the underground parking garage of the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv for a late-night meeting about how to shut down the investigation into the leak.
Braverman reportedly claimed in his interrogation on Sunday that he did not remember why he asked Feldstein to come to the parking lot, and denied asking him to hand over his phone before the meeting.
Feldstein was brought in by police for a confrontation with Braverman on Sunday, which lasted less than 15 minutes, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.
Ambassador to the UK
In their appeal to the magistrate’s court, Braverman’s legal team wrote he had agreed to the conditions for his release “under protest” and stressed their client believes the probe is a “delusional political investigation.”
The 30-day ban on leaving Israel could lead to a delay in Braverman taking up the post of ambassador to the U.K. The Cabinet approved his appointment on Sept. 21.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday denounced calls by opposition lawmakers to cancel the appointment pending the outcome of the police investigation.
Braverman’s appointment “passed all the required stages: a unanimous recommendation by the Appointments Committee chaired by the Civil Service Commissioner, unanimous approval by the government and receipt of the necessary accreditation from Britain,” Sa’ar stated.
“My position is that harming a person, their employment or their position at the initial stage of an investigation is inconsistent with fundamental values of human and civil rights and the right to due process,” the statement by Jerusalem’s top diplomat continued.
“I do not believe that the mere existence of an investigation justifies undermining Mr. Braverman’s appointment or suspending him,” Sa’ar added.
Braverman, a veteran lawyer and political aide, has been a close ally of Netanyahu for much of the past decade. Born in Tel Aviv in 1959, he studied law at Bar-Ilan University before entering public service.
Braverman first served as Cabinet secretary in Netanyahu’s government between 2016 and 2021. In April 2022, he returned to the premier’s inner circle as chief of staff, a position he retained after the Likud returned to power following the Nov. 1, 2022, general election.
