Attorney General Moves to Indict Netanyahu Adviser Yonatan Urich in Classified Documents Case

A serious indictment was filed today (Thursday) against Yonatan Urich, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as part of the "Bild" affair and the classified documents case. Urich is accused of two counts of passing secret information with intent to harm state security, as well as the offense of destroying evidence.

The decision was made after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara adopted the position of the State Attorney, which held that Urich should be indicted on every part of the case.

Defense Minister Israel Katz released a statement supporting Urich: "A critical document seized in Gaza is being hidden from the cabinet — and the attorney general is accusing others of intending to harm state security. There is no stronger proof than this that the law enforcement system has been turned into a political tool. This persecution is not justice — it is an intimidation campaign that has been going on for years. The public understands exactly what is happening here. Stay strong, Yonatan."

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Yariv Levin responded: "Selective enforcement is a crime. I am sending words of support to Yonatan Urich. Nothing can compensate for the suffering and pain being caused to him and his family, solely because of his work with Prime Minister Netanyahu. But I trust Yonatan's determination to bring the truth to light."

Attorneys Amit Hadad and Noa Milshtein, Urich's legal representatives, responded: "The prosecution's decision to file an indictment against Yonatan Urich in the Bild case is a mistaken decision, disconnected from the evidence, which disproves the prosecution's theory and completely dismantles the claims against Urich. The honorable presiding judge, Menachem Mizrahi, who is familiar with all the investigative materials in the case, determined that there is not a shred of evidence that Urich was involved in the leak."

They added: "Instead of closing a case that has no basis, as would have been proper, the prosecution is stubbornly clinging to a full-of-holes and unnecessary case. As in the 'witness harassment' case — where it became clear that the witness was not harassed — this case too will be closed. Yonatan Urich acted lawfully, and his only offense is his work on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attacked the decision: "I do not believe a single word that comes out of Gali Baharav-Miara's mouth. Yonatan Urich is a lover of Israel, a professional, whom the dismissed attorney general, who is on a witch hunt, wants to remove from the Prime Minister's Office at any cost. Everyone already knows this will end in absolutely nothing." 

In a post published by Urich, he took a jab at the attorney general: "Good thing she gave up on executing me."