JERUSALEM (VosIzNeias) — Israel’s Justice Minister, Likud member Amir Ohana, sharply criticized the attorney-general’s office during a press conference which he initiated Tuesday. Ohana, who is responsible through his position for overseeing the prosecution, described it as a “small clique supported by fawning reporters” and added that “there is a prosecution within the prosecution”, meaning that a certain part of the attorney-general’s office has become politicized in an attempt to bring an indictment at all cost against Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Ohana acknowledged that there were many “diligent and devoted attorneys” who seek justice within the system, adding that he was well acquainted with the prosecution through his previous work as a lawyer. However he decried the way in which the investigation of the prime minister is being conducted by senior members of the prosecution.
Ohana accused prosecutors of approaching the criminal investigations into Netanyahu, and the recent hearing process in the cases, with their minds already made up against the premier.
“While most prosecutors hold hearings with open minds, the prosecution within the prosecution was on holiday during the hearing, and according to leaks has already made up its mind, before it has read and responded to the considerable material [presented by the defense], regardless of what was said at the hearing,” Ohana charged.
He was referring to top prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari, who has led the investigation of Netanyahu but despite this went on a family vacation when the third and fourth day of the prime minister’s hearings were held earlier this month. Last month Ben-Ari was controversially appointed as deputy attorney-general in a move seen in some circles as a reward for her efforts to build the case against Netanyahu.
Ohana also slammed the prosecution for the numerous leaks from the investigation, stating that he had sought to open a probe into the “hundreds of leaks” from the prime minister’s investigations, but was refused amid “an utter refusal to find the truth.”
“The public sees this and finds it hard to believe this is how law enforcement operates in Israel,” Ohana said.
Responding to his accusations, Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit and State Attorney Shai Nitzan said that they “regret” his comments and “reject the attempt to cast aspersions on the work of police and prosecution officials without any factual basis.”
“The law enforcement system will not be dragged into the political sphere. No person will deter or dissuade us from the correct path,” Mandelblit and Nitzan said in a joint statement.
Politicians from the opposition parties reacted swiftly to Ohana’s statements. Labor-Gesher MK Revital Swid called Ohana’s press conference “a nightmare speech by Netanyahu’s latest jester. A temporary justice minister in a caretaker government comes forward and reads out the talking points and incitement document dictated to him by [Netanyahu].”
The Movement for Quality Government, a democracy watchdog, called on Netanyahu to fire Ohana immediately.
“We are appalled by Minister Ohana’s uninhibited assault on the justice system,” the organization said in a statement.”The Israeli public deserves a minister that serves it, and does not conduct himself like [an internet] commentator.”