Minister of Public Security Amir Ohana on Tuesday asked Acting Israel Police Commissioner Motti Cohen to use all measures possible, including a polygraph, to locate a police official whom Ohana claims made a threatening remark regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The alleged incident occurred on Monday, a day after Netanyahu launched a vehement attack on law enforcement officials as he arrived at Jerusalem District Court for the start of his corruption trial.
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Acting Chief of Police Motti Cohen, and Interior Minister Amir Ohana
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, Israel Police Force)
Ohana was outraged when senior police officials addressed the possibility that Netanyahu might be subjected to a further police probe regarding a massive payout for his shares in a steel company.
In his letter to Cohen, the minister wrote: “Yesterday, 'a senior police official,’ meaning a coward hiding behind a veil of anonymity, said the following: ‘Lahav 433 [criminal investigations bureau] investigators did an excellent job ignoring all the pressure exerted upon them. They will continue to do so if the attorney general decides on another investigation into [Netanyahu’s] shares. We will treat him with respect, but as in previous investigations - we will give him no quarter.’
Ohana further stated: “In our short time together, I came to see how important the prestige and image of the police are to you. As you can see, they are important to me as well. Such a person, who makes such threats to the prime minister, severely harms the image of the police, its status and its prestige in the eye of the public.”