Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and police investigations chief Cmdr. Boaz Balat did not attend a Knesset hearing Wednesday on alleged conflicts of interest in the ongoing investigation of the Military Advocate General, citing concerns about disrupting the probe.
In a statement from her office, Baharav-Miara said “the investigators and prosecutors involved in the case cannot take part in the discussion. As the investigation is ongoing, no further details can be provided.”
Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, along with the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, had planned the joint session. Committee Chair Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism party said the attorney general was legally required to attend and warned he would call a vote over her absence. He cited a parliamentary rule obligating public officials to appear before committees and provide relevant information when requested.
In a letter to the committee’s director, Baharav-Miara said holding the session would “highly likely obstruct the investigation and taint the criminal proceedings—whether intentionally or not.” She added that after law enforcement received new information about the case, approval was given to launch a criminal probe, which is being conducted by police and remains underway.
At the start of the week, it appeared unlikely Baharav-Miara would attend, as law enforcement officials generally avoid disclosing information about active investigations. The state attorney had also been invited to the session.
Meanwhile, a Tel Aviv court is expected to decide Wednesday whether to extend the detention of the Military Advocate General, who was arrested three days ago after being missing for several days. She asked to appear at the hearing via Zoom, citing her condition.
Her detention was extended Monday until Wednesday. Police began questioning her Tuesday after she was granted a day of rest following her arrest. The interrogations are being conducted at a Defense Ministry facility to ensure maximum confidentiality. The woman who exposed the affair was also summoned to complete her testimony but has not yet been confronted with either the outgoing Military Advocate General or former Chief Military Prosecutor Matan Solomesh, who is also under arrest.
Police are still searching for the Military Advocate General’s cellphone, which they suspect she threw into the sea on Sunday during her disappearance. After she was located, police arrested her and Solomesh on suspicion of obstructing justice. She was taken to Neve Tirza women’s prison and placed in an isolated ward.
Investigators believe her phone contains key evidence in the case, which involves the alleged leaking of video footage showing reserve soldiers accused of abusing a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel. According to law enforcement sources, the leak was coordinated in a WhatsApp group of senior officers in the Military Advocate General’s Office, led by the Military Advocate General herself. Some members are also suspected of attempting to thwart the criminal investigation into the leak and of submitting false affidavits to the High Court of Justice.
If the phone is not recovered, police say it will be more difficult to identify additional suspects whose names have not appeared in existing communications. Even without the device, investigators could request passwords to the suspect’s messaging and email accounts to access the information.