"Whoever hacked into Yonatan Urich's WhatsApp and published personal correspondence while adding and changing the conversations will pay the full price," Urich's legal team said.
Yonatan Urich, senior aide and personal media adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, revealed on Sunday that his WhatsApp account was hacked and promised that the people who leaked his private conversations would "pay the full price."
"Whoever hacked into Yonatan Urich's WhatsApp and published personal correspondence while adding and changing the conversations will pay the full price," Urich said in a message shared on X.
"This will also happen to anyone who publishes, distributes, or shares messages. Whoever does so commits a criminal offense, and a personal lawsuit will be filed against them," he warned.
According to Israeli media reports, the leaked messages included several conversations between Urich and his contacts in which he discussed politics, law, journalism, and political consulting.
The leaker, who posted the images of the chats from an anonymous account, claimed that he had access to additional messages and that he was going to release them to the public later.
Reports of Urich's WhatsApp under risk
Last month, Israeli site Calcalist reported that Urich's WhatsApp was at risk of being hacked because it was linked to an external service from the United Arab Emirates.
According to the report, Urich's account was linked to a service that provided real-time updates on mentions of Netanyahu and his wife and sent alerts to designated WhatsApp groups when necessary, giving foreign actors access to his messages without encryption.
The report was based on Urich's own public statements, with the advisor having publicly shared the artificial intelligence tools he used to create the service.
The Calcalist report on the cyberattack on Urich's account mentioned that there was no proven connection without the vulnerability report and the leaked messages.
Urich's legal case involving Qatar, PM Netanyahu
Urich is a central suspect in the "Qatargate" investigations alleging corruption within the Prime Minister's Office.
The case revolves around suspected influence by Qatari-linked individuals close to Netanyahu.
It is separate from the so-called “Bild affair” relating to reports in the German outlet. The Jerusalem Post has previously reported on intensified scrutiny of both tracks, as well as on the appointment of Shin Bet Director David Zini and recent leadership changes within the agency.
This is a developing story.