[ad_1]
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir slammed the police’s senior command on Sunday, after high-ranking officers resisted handing over investigation materials regarding the Sde Teiman video leak to retired judge Asher Kula.
Coalition lawmakers have been pressuring police to allow Kula, the state ombudsman for judges, to oversee an investigation into former military advocate general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who confessed to leaking footage from the Sde Teiman detention facility purporting to show troops severely abusing a Gazan detainee.
Kula was picked last week by Justice Minister Yariv Levin, in a bid to shut out Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara from the investigation. The Likud minister claims she is compromised, after a prior internal probe that she oversaw failed to implicate Tomer-Yerushalmi in the leak.
Baharav-Miara, whom the government is seeking to oust, argued that Levin lacks the authority to appoint someone in her place. The High Court of Justice is slated to issue a ruling on Tuesday morning as to who will supervise the probe.
In the meantime, police are conducting the investigation independently.
Despite the fact that the court has not yet issued a ruling, Ben Gvir met with Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy and Boaz Blatt, the head of police’s investigations and intelligence division, to demand they loop Kula into the investigation.
“I’m not interfering in the investigation, but the decision on who will supervise and oversee the investigation lies solely with the government. We are not a banana republic,” Ben Gvir said, according to leaks carried by Hebrew outlets.
“There is a government in Jerusalem, and you must follow the instructions of Minister Yariv Levin and allow Judge Asher Kula to be involved,” he continued.
Many right-wing lawmakers have accused Baharav-Miara of helping to cover up the Sde Teiman video leak, which they characterize as a “blood libel” against the State of Israel. Five soldiers accused of the alleged abuse in the video have been indicted, but not yet convicted, on charges of causing severe injury and aggravated assault.
According to Channel 12 news, Blatt told Ben Gvir that he had not wanted to attend Sunday’s meeting and requested not to join.
Ben Gvir responded to Blatt with a veiled threat, saying that he wanted him at the meeting to make it clear that “anyone who transgresses the law and damages an investigation for improper reasons will be punished,” the outlet reported.
Prior to the meeting, Kula approached Blatt and asked him to hand over the investigation materials, but the senior officer refused, according to Ynet. Blatt notified Levy of Kula’s request, and the police chief doubled down, instructing officers not to share materials with anyone until the court decides on the matter.
Kula appeared to backtrack after the meeting between Ben Gvir, Levy, and Blatt, and announced he would refrain from acting on the investigation until a ruling is handed down.
“Out of caution and respect for the Supreme Court’s decision, I have refrained and will continue to refrain from taking any action on the matter pending a final decision by the court,” Kula wrote in a letter.
Kula defended his actions, saying that, “I did not assume authority for myself in violation of the law. I lawfully received a letter of appointment from the justice minister and acted (in a completely minor manner) in accordance with it.”
“I have no personal interest in the affair, and whatever the court decides will be completely acceptable to me,” he continued.
Ben Gvir, who picked Levy for police chief last year, has previously clashed with Levy when the officer publicly pledged to obey the High Court, which the government has been seeking to weaken through its judicial overhaul program.
The Sde Teiman leak investigation has emerged as the latest front in the government’s broadside against the judiciary, after Baharav-Miara ordered the probe reopened late last month due to new information.
Following the renewal of the probe, Tomer-Yerushalmi admitted to having initiated the leak and resigned as military advocate general. She was taken into police custody last Sunday after going missing for hours amid fears she took her own life.
Law enforcement officials were unable to locate Tomer-Yerushalmi’s phone, leading them to suspect that she staged a suicide attempt to dispose of digital evidence. A civilian swimmer found the phone by chance on Friday and handed it over to the police.
Tomer-Yerushalmi was released to house arrest on Friday after posting bail, but was transferred to Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital on Sunday morning after medics were called to her home in Ramat Hasharon. It was later reported that she had overdosed on pills in a second apparent suicide attempt.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link
