Ganot withdraws candidacy for police chief
Israel Prison Service chief and leading candidate to replace outgoing police head Karadi withdraws his candidacy after learning that committee in charge of approving appointment was leaning to vote against him
Two out of the three members of the Tirkel Committee, Justice (ret.) Yaakov Tirkel and Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander, were said to be inclined to vote against his appointment, while Major General (res.) Haim David reportedly supported it.
In a letter to Dichter, Ganot thanked the minister for his confidence, but stated that, "I would not have the criticism leveled against me tarnish the police's name."
The Tirkel Committee was scheduled to decide on Ganot's appointment in the next few days, and has interviewed various people in order to form an opinion about the candidate, including Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, outgoing Police Chief Moshe Karadi and Ganot himself.
In light of this new development, Dichter will apparently be forced to ask Karadi to extend his tenure until a replacement is found. Karadi associates said he would be willing to do so.
Dichter's decision to appoint Ganot police chief was met with harsh criticism, due to the fact that the latter stood trial for bribery and fraud charges some 13 years ago. Several petitions were served to the High Court of Justice over the matter, but the court refused to discuss them before the Tirkel Committee makes its decision.
