Following the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai aircraft and revelations about failures in the security screening of foreign flights to Israel, the Israel Police Investigations and Intelligence Division has opened a probe into two senior Transport Ministry officials suspected of conflicts of interest while serving in the ministry’s aviation security apparatus.
At the center of the case is Avri Cohen, head of the ministry’s security division, who according to the report also worked for the past eight years as a reserve security officer responsible for protecting Israeli airlines at foreign airports.
Miri Regev, Flydubai plane
(Photo: Itay Blumental, Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The Civil Service Commission said Cohen had not received authorization to hold an additional job. According to a report in Haaretz, Cohen served as a security representative for Israeli airlines at airports abroad and received separate payment for that work while simultaneously heading the Transport Ministry division responsible for overseeing security arrangements for foreign flights.
Police are also examining allegations involving Dvir Rubinstein, director of the Transport Ministry’s aviation security operations center.
Rubinstein owns a private company that allegedly provided paid training and consulting services to foreign airlines, including Flydubai and Emirates. Those were among the carriers he was required to oversee as part of his Transport Ministry role.
Calcalist reported this week that the Transport Ministry acknowledged Cohen had worked in an additional position without approval and would be required to end that employment.
“The authority to grant permission to an employee at his rank rests with the Civil Service Commission, and the ministry’s management did not submit such a request on his behalf. Therefore, no permit was granted,” the Transport Ministry said.
The ministry added that it operates according to Civil Service Commission rules and stressed that “the obligation to request and receive permission before carrying out additional work rests with the employee.”
The police probe comes amid intense scrutiny of Israel’s aviation security procedures following the Flydubai incident, which raised broader questions over the vetting of foreign pilots and the officials responsible for supervising airlines flying into Israel.