The release restrictions placed on Tzachi Braverman, chief of staff to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expired early this morning after a judge ruled that police had filed their request for an extension too late. The court scheduled a hearing on the matter for tomorrow instead of granting a temporary extension.

Police had asked the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court to extend the conditions until March 10 and sought an interim order without a hearing. Judge Menachem Mizrachi rejected the request, saying the timing did not allow the court to consider it before the existing restrictions lapsed.

Braverman, who was appointed in September to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom but has not yet assumed the role, had been barred from leaving the country and from contacting Netanyahu or other officials in the Prime Minister's Office. It remains unclear whether he reached out to anyone on the no-contact list after the restrictions expired.

He is under investigation on suspicion of interfering with an investigation and other alleged offenses. The case centers on claims that he told Netanyahu spokesperson Eli Feldstein that he could halt a military investigation into Feldstein over the leak of a classified document to the German newspaper Bild. Police have appealed the judge's decision, and that appeal is currently being heard by the Central District Court.