Less than 24 hours after the Israel Police's Internal Investigations Department (PIID) detained a senior police officer holding the rank of deputy commissioner (the organization's second-highest rank) responsible for sensitive investigations on suspicion of breach of trust and abuse of power, a major new detail has emerged. The case he allegedly attempted to influence has not yet been publicly disclosed and remains unresolved within the police.
“This is a case not yet known to the public,” sources familiar with the matter told ynet on Thursday morning.
According to the charge, the officer influenced an investigation being conducted by the Lahav 433 unit in a matter in which he allegedly had a conflict of interest. The deputy commissioner was questioned for more than seven hours, and was released near midnight under restrictive conditions: removal from police facilities for nine days and a ban on contacting persons involved in the file. At the end of the interrogation his police vehicle was confiscated by PIID.
Meanwhile, the Minister for National Security contacted the wife of the senior officer and told her: “The presumption of innocence applies to him.” Minister Itamar Ben‑Gvir also announced his opposition to naming an acting replacement for the officer. His wife told ynet afterwards: “We say what we said — we are law‑abiding people, believe in his innocence, and we will maintain that.”
To maintain confidentiality in the sensitive investigation, he was interrogated at PIID offices in Netanya. In addition to the department, the police themselves are participating in the probe. A gag order has been imposed on the details of the investigation and many police personnel have signed secrecy agreements.
According to PIID, the officer is suspected of intervening in a matter in which he had a conflict of interest without reporting it—and even acting in various ways to influence how his unit handled the case. A senior official with knowledge of the matter said the suspicion is that the officer aided a businessman apparently close to him during a sensitive investigation.
On Wednesday night, ynet reported that Police Commissioner Daniel Levy has named Assistant Commissioner Eli Macmull, head of the national economic crime unit, as acting replacement for the senior officer. In response to the internal upheaval, Levy also called an urgent meeting of the police command staff.
The identity of the senior deputy commissioner has not yet been revealed, but the serious allegations against him—given his sensitive role—constitute nothing less than an earthquake in the law‑enforcement system. This comes at a time when the force is already under strain amid the investigation of the Attorney‑General for Military Prosecution Yifat Tomer‑Yerushalmi.