Netanyahu's chief of staff under fire over alleged involvement in blackmailing of IDF officer

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman came under fire on Sunday as a report claims his involvement in blackmailing an IDF officer to reportedly alter minutes from wartime meetings.

Braverman allegedly threatened the officer with a sensitive video recording that he obtained from security cameras in the Prime Minister’s Office, the report by the Kan public broadcaster claimed.

The report also said that the obtained sensitive video recording was shown to other PMO employees as well.

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Braverman, on the other hand, denied any such involvement and called the report “false” and “defamatory” in a statement.

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“This is a lie from start to finish, whose aim is to harm me and the Prime Minister’s Office in the middle of a war,” said Braverman that he neither collected any such video nor used it for blackmailing purposes.

Within hours of the report, Braverman threatened legal action if Kan did not remove the article and demanded a public apology and NIS 100,000 (approximately $26,700) in damages over its publication.

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The PMO released a letter from Braverman’s lawyer demanding an immediate public apology from Kan political reporter Michael Shemesh and the network’s director general Golan Yochpaz.

The letter called the Kan report “lies, fake news” and “severe slander, alongside wild incitement in a time of war.”

If Kan did not comply, Braverman’s attorney Oriel Nizri threatened “a series of legal actions” against the outlet and Shemesh.

The Kan’s report came on Sunday, which was released in the wake of several other reports that came after a complaint filed with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi claiming PMO was holding and making inappropriate use of sensitive footage of an IDF officer.

An unnamed official in Netanyahu’s cabinet reportedly told Halevi that the officer was in an inappropriate relationship with a female worker in the PMO. But following an army probe it was determined the relationship was not an abuse of power.

According to Channel 13 news, PMO officials demanded thewoman’s phone on suspicion of her leaking information but used it to extract the private conversations between her and the IDF officer.

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The report mentioning Braverman came amid a sea of allegations charged against the PMO over leaks of sensitive information and the alleged theft of top-secret intelligence documents.

The ruckus over such allegations led police officials to question several PMO employees and a proper investigation into the case, which Netanyahu’s office slammed as a witch hunt.

Netanyahu himself has not been accused in any of the investigations.

(With inputs from agencies)