Former police commissioner Roni Alsheikh, said on Wednesday that he was certain the reporting on police misuse of the NSO spyware against citizens was wrong.
His comments were made on a video clip he released to the media after the alleged violation of civil rights by police were primarily during his term.
"Even though I have been outside the Israeli police force for over three years, knowing the system from up close, I have no doubt that the picture that everyone is trying to paint, has no foundation in reality," Alshekih said.
The former commissioner argued that he had not responded on the record earlier because the report in Ynet's sister website Calcalist linked the alleged violations to the ongoing corruption trial of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu who was indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
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Benjamin Netanyahu (center) with his attorneys in the Jerusalem District Court where he is on trial for corruption
(Photo: Yoav Davidovitch)
Netanyahu has claimed that Alsheikh along with former Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit had trumped up the charges against him.
"In all my years of public service, I have never interfered in or contaminated a legal process," he said
"We chose to leave the stage to the Attorney General, the state prosecution, the police, and the Shin Ben, although it was very difficult and frustrating on the personal level," Alsheikh said.
The second reason the former commissioner gave for refusing to comment on the reports was the difficulty he had on a personal level to deal with accusations made without a shred of evidence to support them.
"On Monday, Dramatic headlines appeared on Monday alleging that Israel Police in general, and under my leadership in particular, ignored every possible law and took what was supposed to be a tool for focused investigations and under supervision, and used it fish for possible crimes. As a result, my closest friends, like many of Israel's citizens, were shocked asked me for answers, and that was the turning point for me," he said.
Alshekih said that after particular names were mentioned in the media reports, and as a person who was familiar with the technological tool, he could either verify or rule out the allegations.
"If the publications were true, it would be a devastating blow to democracy, no less.," he said.
"Unfortunately, I saw how the police's findings were received with suspicion, by some. As someone who is familiar with the force, I am convinced that it performed this inquiry with integrity." he said.
"As one who believes in values such as transparency and the restraint in the use of power and has led the police according to them, I personally welcome the call to have an external review in order to determine if there was an illegal use of the technology in order to repair the damage that was done to the image of the police and restore the public's confidence as quickly as possible," Alshekih said.
First published: 22:57, 02.09.22