Will the Attorney General and the State Attorney be prosecuted? A new law promoted by MKs

December 3, 2024   

MKs Zvi Sukkot and Simcha Rotman from the Religious Zionist Party submitted to the Knesset Secretariat an amendment to the law that would allow the Attorney General and the State Attorney to be investigated. According to the amendment to the law, if the police learn of an offense committed by the Attorney General or the State Attorney or anyone on their behalf, they will contact the Minister of Justice to appoint a prosecutor who will receive all the powers of the Attorney General and the State Attorney regarding investigation and prosecution. "The Attorney General and the State Attorney are at the head of the law enforcement and prosecution system in Israel," explained Rotman and Sukkot. "Although there are a number of provisions regarding the opening of an investigation and the filing of indictments against senior officials such as the Prime Minister, a minister, a judge, and more, the buyer has discretion when it comes to opening such a procedure against the Attorney General and the State Attorney." They argued: "In a situation where there is concern that the Attorney General or the State Attorney may have committed an offense, a substantial conflict of interest arises in the involvement of the prosecution in the aforementioned suspicions, from accompanying the investigation to deciding whether there is a need to file an indictment." "In light of this," they concluded, "the bill seeks to rectify the situation and allow the Minister of Justice to appoint an external prosecutor to the prosecution in these cases, similar to the interrogation of police officers conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division and not by the police investigation units. "According to the bill, the appointed prosecutor will be granted powers equivalent to the powers of the Attorney General and the State Attorney.".