Minister of Public Security Amir Ohana on Tuesday asked Acting Israel Police Commissioner Motti Cohen to use all measures possible, including a polygraph, to locate a police official whom Ohana claims made a threatening remark regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The alleged incident occurred on Monday, a day after Netanyahu launched a vehement attack on law enforcement officials as he arrived at Jerusalem District Court for the start of his corruption trial.
Ohana was outraged when senior police officials addressed the possibility that Netanyahu might be subjected to a further police probe regarding a massive payout for his shares in a steel company.
In his letter to Cohen, the minister wrote: “Yesterday, 'a senior police official,’ meaning a coward hiding behind a veil of anonymity, said the following: ‘Lahav 433 [criminal investigations bureau] investigators did an excellent job ignoring all the pressure exerted upon them. They will continue to do so if the attorney general decides on another investigation into [Netanyahu’s] shares. We will treat him with respect, but as in previous investigations - we will give him no quarter.’
Ohana further stated: “In our short time together, I came to see how important the prestige and image of the police are to you. As you can see, they are important to me as well. Such a person, who makes such threats to the prime minister, severely harms the image of the police, its status and its prestige in the eye of the public.”