Bennett: Netanyahu made his ‘consiglieri’ state comptroller to shield himself from Oct. 7 scrutiny

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and leader of the Together slate has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government of installing the premier’s personal lawyer, Michael Rabello, as state comptroller in order to shield himself from scrutiny for the October 7, 2023, attacks, in a highly controversial vote.

Rabello was elected earlier today following a chaotic vote in which Likud lawmakers were allegedly pressured to film their ballots to prove they had voted for him, despite the law calling for a secret ballot.

“This government will stop at nothing to evade the truth and escape responsibility for the greatest massacre in the state’s history,” Bennett said in a pre-recorded video message.

“If turning a private lawyer into a state comptroller is what it takes to cover up the search for truth, then that is what they will do,” he continued.

Netanyahu, who has never acknowledged direct responsibility for the failures surrounding October 7 and relentlessly attempted to place the blame on others, has steadfastly refused to establish a state commission of inquiry into October 7, arguing at different times that such a probe could not proceed during wartime and later that it would be biased because its members are appointed by the judiciary, whose powers the government has sought to curb.

Comparing the party to the mafia, and calling Rabello Netanyahu’s “consiglieri,” Bennett said that today’s “patently illegal” election undermines the independence of an office tasked with overseeing the government and investigating failures by public officials.

Bennett and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid’s joint Together slate announced earlier today that it would petition the High Court of Justice to overturn the vote.