In a sense, police credibility hinges on the PM being convicted, Roni Alsheich says; denies having leaked information from cases

Former Israeli chief of police, Roni Alsheich, speaks at a conference in Kfar Maccabiah, Ramat Gan, January 8, 2019. (Flash90)
Former Israeli chief of police, Roni Alsheich, speaks at a conference in Kfar Maccabiah, Ramat Gan, January 8, 2019. (Flash90)

 

Former Israel Police chief Roni Alsheich said Sunday it is difficult for him to envision a scenario in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not indicted for bribery in the corruption cases against him.

Alsheich, who ended his term as Israel’s top cop last month, oversaw the three police investigations into Netanyahu, which ultimately all yielded police recommendations of indictment for bribery and other charges. The case files are currently being examined by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who is widely expected to announce his decision on an indictment, pending a hearing, next month.

“I find it hard” to see a situation in which a corruption indictment is not filed against the prime minister, Alsheich said at a conference organized by Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies, noting that he had read all the material from the police investigations.

“Can you foresee a situation in which the prime minister is not indicted for bribery?” he was asked. “I find it hard,” he replied. “We’ve all seen the evidence,” he elaborated, referring to the police and Mandelblit-led state prosecution team that worked on the case along with the cops. There was a limited scope for different interpretations of the evidence, he allowed, “but ultimately the facts are there in front of us.” Still, he stressed, “only the authorized person” — the attorney general — would make the final decision.

“In a sense, the police’s credibility is dependent on a Netanyahu conviction,” he added. “The role of the police is to get to the truth, and to gets answers to the questions as accurately as possible. The more it were to emerge that the facts the police uncovered are incorrect, the harder it is for the police.”

He said he was convinced Mandelblit would make “a professional decision” on the merits of the cases, solely on the basis of the evidence, and would not be swayed by any outside considerations. “We’ve said what we had to say” about the evidence, he added, referring to the police recommendations.

Alsheich also denied ever having leaked any information about the cases to media and suggested that some of the information passed on to journalists was aimed at discrediting the investigations.

“The reporters know that the police do not leak from these investigations, period,” he said.

Asked to comment on allegations that the police had sought to frame Netanyahu, Alsheich said the police could not possibly do so, since it was the attorney general, not the police, who initiated the investigations.

Netanyahu’s legal team have filed a complaint with Mandelblit demanding he open a probe into leaks from the investigation, which, they claim, have compromised the integrity of the cases.

Then-police commissioner Roni Alsheich (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a welcoming ceremony for Alsheich at the start of his term, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, December 3, 2015. (Miriam Alster/ Flash90)
Then-police commissioner Roni Alsheich (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a welcoming ceremony for Alsheich at the start of his term, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, December 3, 2015. (Miriam Alster/ Flash90)

 

Alsheich also repeated an assertion he made in the past that someone had put private investigators onto the police officers probing the cases against Netanyahu — a notion rejected by the prime minister — and said that he himself had received threats, but declined to give details.

The ruling Likud party, which is led by Netanyahu, responded in a statement that Alsheich’s claim of private investigators only served to show his belief in conspiracy theories, undermining his ability to conduct a fair investigation.

“Roni Alsheich repeats this evening the false suggestion that Prime Minister Netanyahu sent private investigators against police investigators,” the statement said. “When the police commissioner believes such a delusional conspiracy, how can a fair trial be expected? No wonder Alsheich joins in the pressure of the left on the attorney general to indict Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

Last week, Alsheich reportedly said he believes Mandelblit will announcehis intention to indict Netanyahu before the coming elections, scheduled for April 9. He also reportedly said he had “no doubt” that bribery will be one of the charges.

Police recommended last year that Netanyahu be indicted for bribe-taking in all three cases. Alsehich’s term as police commissioner ended several months later after three years; he was not offered a customary fourth year on the job.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit at a conference of the Israeli Television News Company in Jerusalem, September 3, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit at a conference of the Israeli Television News Company in Jerusalem, September 3, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

 

Netanyahu, who appointed Alsheich to the post, had made little secret of his dislike for the police chief over the past two years, accusing him of leaking information to the press and of conducting a “witch hunt.”

Amid mounting reports that Mandelblit is leaning toward indicting Netanyahu, pending a hearing, on charges of bribery — and that the announcement could be made as early as February — Netanyahu has ramped up his efforts to portray such a decision as illegitimate.

He has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the probes are part of a left-wing conspiracy to depose him and that the media, the left and the police are engaged in an attempt to “steal” the upcoming April 9 election.

One of the probes relates to gifts Netanyahu received from billionaire benefactors and the other two cases involve suspected quid pro quos he is alleged to have provided or considered providing in exchange for favorable media coverage.
As reported by The Times of Israel