Acting police chief says no permanent appointment anytime soon — report

Interim Israel Police Commissioner Motti Cohen reportedly told law enforcement brass on Thursday that he is likely to remain acting chief for the foreseeable future.

“Due to the political situation… it appears that no permanent commissioner will be appointed to the police in the near future,” he told district commanders, according to the Walla and Maariv news sites. “I will continue to lead police as acting chief until a different decision is made.”

The force has been led by Cohen since December 2018, when then public security minister Gilad Erdan declined to extend Roni Alsheich’s four-year tenure by the customary additional year. Alsheich’s term was marked by public feuds with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior politicians.

As Israel’s top cop, Alsheich oversaw the police investigations into Netanyahu, which concluded with an indictment against the premier on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. His trial has since begun. The prime minister, who orchestrated Alsheich’s appointment to the post, had made little secret of his dislike for the police chief, accusing him of leaking information from the investigations to the press and of conducting a “witch hunt.”

After ending Alsheich’s term, Erdan sought to replace him with Moshe Edri, but the latter withdrew his candidacy amid a public scandal over his conduct. Cohen has been at the helm ever since.

His temporary term is set to expire on September 30, but Public Security Minister Amir Ohana is expected to submit a cabinet request in the coming weeks asking ministers to extend it.

The Knesset on Monday night gave final approval to a bill delaying the deadline for the state budget, breaking through a bitter political logjam ostensibly about the state budget, but also over the issue of senior law-enforcement appointments — such as police chief and state prosecutors — and the balance of power in the dysfunctional unity coalition.

Despite earlier Likud party demands, the final bill approved by the Knesset plenum Monday night did not include a clause forming a panel on senior appointments. Netanyahu has been accused of seeking to engineer the appointment of top legal officials who would be willing to be more lenient in the criminal graft trial against him. The prime minister denies any such plan.

Responding to a High Court petition seeking to bar him from dealing with judicial appointments due to the corruption charges he is facing in court, Netanyahu announced Wednesday that he will take no role in appointing senior Justice Ministry officials and an Israel Police commissioner.