After Knesset resignation, police say Magal probe to proceed

Former Jewish Home party MK Yinon Magal will face a criminal investigation over the mounting allegations of sexual harassment against him, a senior police official said Thursday.

The formal complaints lodged against Magal, who stepped down from the Knesset as a lawmaker earlier this week, cannot be disregarded by police, the law enforcement official told the NRG website.

As a serving Knesset member, Magal enjoyed immunity from investigations, hearings and legal proceedings that were unrelated to his work as a member of Knesset. However, police are obliged to investigate criminal allegations against public officials if victims complain to police.

“Stepping down from the Knesset means nothing, there will be an investigation,” the officer confirmed, adding that investigators from the high-level Lahav 443 unit were tasked with probing the allegations.

The journalist-turned-lawmaker, who is married, has been accused by four women in the past few weeks of sexual harassment. He quit the Knesset on Monday.

Last week, Magal insisted that while hurtful, his past behavior was not criminal.

“I made a mistake in my past conduct, which is even more unbecoming for the public official I am today,” Magal said in a statement last Wednesday. “I apologize from the bottom of my heart to those who were hurt. I am determined to correct my behavior and also to repair things on the personal and family level.”

Last Tuesday, two of Magal’s former employees said the former lawmaker made lewd comments and unwanted sexual advances during and after he served as editor-in-chief of the Walla news site. Magal stepped down as the popular site’s editor in late 2014 in order to run for Knesset.

The first public allegations surfaced on Tuesday morning, in a Facebook post by Walla reporter Racheli Rottner, who said Magal had made a pass at her at his farewell party when he left Walla.

Hours later, a second Walla reporter, Or Shukran, also complained that Magal “repeatedly stroked my behind, even after I asked him to stop,” an act that could be considered sexual assault.

In the days following, a third and fourth woman came forward with similar allegations against Magal.

One of the unidentified women told Channel 2 that she ran into Magal some two years ago, and the now-lawmaker forcibly kissed her, leaving her “stunned.” She told the TV station she didn’t complain at the time because she feared public backlash.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.