Academics urge High Court to sideline Israel Police chief from Sde Teiman leak probe

A coalition of academics takes legal action against police chief Danny Levy and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, urging the High Court to bar them from involvement in the Sde Teiman leak probe.

The probe — which concerns the illicit leaking of a video purporting to show reservists sexually assaulting a Gazan inmate at the Sde Teiman military base — has reportedly been held up by Levy for more than a month now, in what the petition filed this morning dubs “improper interference.”

The petitioning group, Academia for Democracy, accuses Levy of bowing to pressure from Ben Gvir to find dirt on Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the government is seeking to oust, that would implicate her in the leak and its subsequent cover-up.

The group further requests that judges issue a temporary injunction preventing both him and Ben Gvir from interfering in the investigation.

Hebrew outlets reported that Levy received the findings of the Sde Teiman probe from detectives in the force’s investigations and intelligence division in mid-December. But rather than transferring the findings to the State Attorney’s Office so charges could be filed, Levy allegedly stopped short.

The petition claims Levy forbade the head of the police’s investigations and intelligence division, Deputy Commissioner Boaz Blatt, from updating the State Attorney’s Office on the probe’s progress. He also ordered law enforcement to carry out “supplementary” investigative actions, despite the investigative team insisting they were unnecessary, the court filing alleges.

“This unprecedented interference in the management of a sensitive investigation was done without authority and harms the rule of law. It is clearly motivated by external considerations, with a real concern of improper political influence on the investigation,” petitioners write.

This hold-up is reportedly due to pressure from Ben Gvir, who seeks to place blame on Baharav-Miara, after her office oversaw an earlier, fallacious internal probe which failed to implicate the leak’s source: former military attorney general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi.

Baharav-Miara recused herself from overseeing the probe at the behest of the High Court over a potential conflict of interest. However, no evidence has been found linking her to the leak or subsequent cover-up. The grounds for her recusal, much sought after by right-wing politicians, would likely be voided if prosecutors were to file indictments without charging her.

In a statement to Channel 12 earlier this month, police flatly denied that Levy was withholding the results of the investigation, calling the accusation baseless.