Knesset Speaker Calls for Criminal Investigation Against MK Kariv

By Aryeh Stern

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana has formally requested an immediate criminal investigation into leaks of classified information from a closed-door meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to the media by MK Gilad Kariv (Labor). The request was made to the government’s attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, more than a month ago, on Jan. 8.

The inquiry, conducted by the Knesset’s legal officer, Yuval Henn, revealed that Kariv, the only individual who accessed the protocol from which the information leaked, had reviewed it twice. The examination also found that Kariv had marked specific sections of the protocol with a marker, pen, and pencil, corresponding to the segments later disclosed. The committee’s secretary, Asaf Friedman, emphasized that this was the sole existing copy of the discussion, handed to Kariv in a clean state.

In the Knesset Speaker’s appeal to Baharav-Miara, Ohana stressed the severity of the incident, describing it as a very serious incident where classified information was leaked to an unauthorized media figure during a sensitive period of conflict for Israel. He argued that individuals from security agencies and bodies, sharing valuable security information in committee meetings, should be provided with an appropriate platform to safeguard their interests.

Ohana concluded his letter by expressing the necessity of utilizing all legal means to prevent further leaks from additional committee sessions, emphasizing the potential harm not only to national security but also to the Knesset’s oversight capability. MK Kariv did not deny the leak, acknowledging that he did leak information, but asserting that any political or retaliatory investigation into this matter would undermine democratic values.