Two leading American newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post, reported that among the classified American intelligence documents which have been leaked online in recent days is an assessment that senior members of Israel's Mossad spy agency encouraged the agency's employees and the general population to protest against the Israeli government's planned judicial reforms.

According to the document, which was dated March 1 2023, the senior officials' backing of the protests included "several explicit calls to action that decried the Israeli Government.”

The document is allegedly an intelligence assessment from the American CIA, and does not include the names of the specific officials who encouraged the protests.

The FBI is investigating the leak, and it is currently believed that the leaked documents are authentic.

Both newspapers reported that senior Israeli officials denied the reports.

The Prime Minister's office issued a statement this morning (Sunday) vehemently denying the reports.

"The report that was published overnight in the American press is mendacious and without any foundation whatsoever. The Mossad and its senior officials did not – and do not – encourage agency personnel to join the demonstrations against the government, political demonstrations or any political activity. The Mossad and its serving senior personnel have not engaged in the issue of the demonstrations at all and are dedicated to the value of service to the state that has guided the Mossad since its founding," the Prime Minister's Office reported.

In February, Mossad chief David Barnea issued an unusual authorization allowing Mossad employees to participate in the anti-judicial reform protests, and former heads of the Mossad publicly called for the freezing of the judicial reform legislation. It is possible that these events are what the intelligence assessment is referring to.