Police said the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court erred when it overturned the restrictions, including restrictions on Jurich’s employment and broad no-contact orders.
Israeli police on Sunday filed an appeal with the Lod District Court seeking to overturn a magistrate court decision that lifted most of the restrictive conditions imposed on Yonatan Urich, Amir Mentsur, and Tzachi Braverman, top aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in connection with the case of leaking confidential documents to the Bild newspaper.
A hearing has been set for Tuesday.
The appeals challenge a ruling by the head of the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, Judge Menachem Mizrahi, who strongly criticized the police investigation and ordered most of the restrictive measures against the three to be lifted. Mizrahi left only financial guarantees and limited orders to have no contact with Eli Feldstein and Israel Einhorn for 60 days.
Police said in their filings that the magistrates court erred when it overturned restrictions including a ban on working in the Prime Minister’s Office, broad no-contact orders and, in Braverman’s case, a ban on leaving the country.
Investigators also requested a stay of execution, warning that the immediate lifting of the conditions poses a tangible risk to the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
Lawyer Amit Haddad arrives for the trial hearing of Yonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein, who were arrested in the so-called “Qatargate” investigation, at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court, April 1, 2025. (AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)
Urich, Montessor, and Braverman are suspected of serious security crimes
Police confirm that Urich, Mantzur and Braverman are suspected of serious security-related crimes, including handing over, possessing and destroying classified information, some of which was allegedly carried out with the intention of harming state security.
According to investigators, the basis of evidence against the three remains strong and was wrongly dismissed by the magistrate court at this initial procedural stage.
Regarding Urich, police said Mizrahi improperly evaluated the evidence separately rather than as part of a cumulative picture.
The appeal cites encrypted Signal correspondence between Urich and Feldstein before the classified material was published in Bild newspaper, in which Feldstein allegedly referred to a source within military intelligence and discussed ways to circumvent military censorship.
Regarding Braverman, police maintain there is reasonable suspicion that he sought to obstruct the investigation during an early meeting with Feldstein, shortly after the case became public. Investigators also argued that Braverman’s extended stay abroad following a televised interview in which Feldstein described the alleged meeting delayed key investigative steps, reinforcing the need for restrictive measures, including a temporary travel ban.
The appeals also allege that Mizrahi improperly weighed the credibility of Feldstein — a central figure whose statements support the prosecution’s case — and downplayed the investigative risks posed by lifting the hiring ban. Police have warned that allowing suspects to return to sensitive government environments creates an increased risk of obstruction, given their senior positions and those places’ alleged connection to underlying events.
Investigators also appealed the decision to cancel the general no-contact orders, arguing that at this stage of the investigation it is not yet possible to identify all potential witnesses or suspects. According to the appeals, imposing narrower restrictions on names only undermines the ability to prevent coordination or interference.
Mizrahi’s ruling relied in part on the formal separation of the Bild case from the so-called “Qatargate” investigation, which investigates alleged ties between Netanyahu associates and influence efforts linked to Qatar. The police said in their appeals that although the investigations are procedurally distinct, overlapping facts remain and must be taken into account when assessing the risk posed by lifting restrictions.
The appeals assert that the references to Qatargate-related materials were not intended to improperly expand the scope of the case, but rather to provide contextual background relevant to assessing the risk of obstruction and the seriousness of suspicion.
The police asked the district court to reimpose the restrictive conditions pending a full hearing on the appeals, warning that without immediate intervention, the district court’s decision would take effect and would be difficult to reverse. It is expected that the Central Court in Lod will first rule on the request to stay the execution, before dealing with the subject of the appeal itself.