The Lod District Court on Tuesday overturned a lower court decision and reinstated restrictions on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, including a travel ban and a prohibition on entering the Prime Minister’s Office, until February 24.
District Court Judge Michael Karshen accepted a police appeal and sharply criticized last week’s ruling by Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court Judge Menachem Mizrahi, who had lifted the travel ban and narrowed the list of people Braverman was barred from contacting. Karshen said the lower court had deviated from accepted legal practice in handling the case and rejected its finding that reasonable suspicion against Braverman had diminished. In his written decision, he stated that the evidence gathered so far indicates the suspicion has not weakened and in fact has strengthened.
He declined to elaborate on the investigative developments, saying that unlike the lower court, which had addressed some of the material, it is not customary to detail such matters at this stage of an ongoing police investigation. However, he noted that while there are several investigative avenues, “one of them is currently less probable.”
Karshen also rejected the Magistrate’s Court criticism of the conduct of the investigating unit, Lahav 433, the police’s national crime unit. A close review of the investigative steps taken before the probe became public and afterward shows that “police acted and are acting properly and the pace of the investigation is not slow — far from it,” he wrote, particularly given the senior officials involved and the approvals required. He added that a confidential report submitted to the lower court demonstrates that police have a structured and organized investigative plan.
The appointment of Israel’s ambassador to London remains on hold pending a decision by police investigating the so-called “night meeting” affair on whether to lift the travel ban imposed on Braverman following his questioning on January 11.
On Monday, the District Court heard the police appeal. During that hearing, Karshen said there was “reasonable suspicion at a sufficient level” and that it “has not weakened but rather strengthened.” He added, citing a police representative, that the investigation is expected to conclude “in the near future.”