Knesset Speaker: The Ombudsman is trying to bury the Karib leak affair

January 3, 2025   

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana this evening (Thursday) sharply attacked the Legal Advisor to the Government, Gali Baharav Mayara, following the state's announcement to the High Court of Justice about only a "preliminary examination" in the leak of a secret protocol from the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee involving MK Gilad Kariv. Ohana: "The Legal Advisor to the Government is trying to bury the leak of MK Gilad Kariv. There is no other way to describe the shameful response she delivered to the High Court of Justice today, a year after I approached her on the subject. Could it be that 'preliminary examinations' are only now being conducted? Is it possible that what it took a Knesset officer a week - to investigate and locate the source of the leak - the Israel Police cannot do in an entire year?" He harshly criticized the attorney general's conduct: "Is it possible that the legal pirate will go on a rampage against a Knesset officer who acted to investigate and locate leaked information from the Knesset, implying that it was 'doubtful' whether he was authorized to investigate, all while she refuses to do her job and order the opening of an investigation as requested? "Is it possible that her arrogance and arrogance will not respond to the Knesset Speaker for an entire year, other than 'accepted', 'treated' by her junior assistants? In her response today, as in other cases, Gali Baharav Meyara proves that she is unworthy of her position or any public office. Time and again she acts out of intoxication of power and unilaterally, without any professional or personal integrity and against the public interest." Ohana added and claimed that "the General Prosecutor's Office headed by her has become a political body that is run according to considerations of 'we are your enemies'. Her actions tarnish thousands of honest and dedicated public servants in the Attorney General's Office and the police." According to him, "the document that the Attorney General sent to the High Court of Justice should be studied in law schools under the definition: 'How to write that you do not want to investigate without writing that you do not want to investigate.' And the truth is that any action that is not an order to investigate the affair means a serious violation of democracy, the height of which is in the throat of Miarah, morning and evening." Earlier today, the state informed the High Court of Justice that a "preliminary examination" is being conducted on the suspicions against MK Gilad Kariv, who is suspected of leaking a secret protocol from the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee. The state's announcement revealed that "evidence-gathering activities have begun, consultations were held in the State Attorney's Office and the Israel Police, and various inspection activities have been carried out, with additional activities expected to be carried out as part of the examination." However, the state emphasized: "A final decision has not yet been made regarding the opening of a criminal investigation." The Attorney General's response to the High Court also stated: "It is doubtful whether the Knesset officer had the authority to carry out the inspection activities that led to the location of the leaking MK." The petition, which was submitted to the High Court by the Lavie organization, through attorney Yitzhak Bem, is based on the findings of the Knesset officer's inspection, which indicated that MK Gilad Kariv of Labor was the only MK who reviewed the secret protocol in the days leading up to its publication in the media in December 2023. According to the organization, these are serious offenses of serious espionage and the transmission of confidential information, which require the opening of an immediate investigation. It was also claimed that despite the Knesset Speaker's appeal to the Legal Advisor to the Prime Minister on the matter, such an investigation has not yet been opened. According to the Lavie organization, the offenses allegedly committed by Karib are more serious than the offenses attributed to Eli Feldstein and Ari Rosenfeld, where the prosecution claimed a serious security threat, while here the prosecution is stalling.