Prisons chief Yaakobi arrives for further questioning in case linked to Ben Gvir

Prisons chief Kobi Yaakobi is reporting to the Justice Department’s internal police affairs division for questioning over suspicions that he and other senior security officials abused their powers to protect National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Hebrew media reports.

The Israel Prison Service chief is suspected of breach of trust and obstructing an investigation, in an affair that has seen him and Cdr. Avishai Mualem, a senior officer in the Israel Police’s West Bank division, detained and previously questioned at the Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI).

Today, Yaakobi shows up at DIPI offices under heavy guard, with the Ynet news site reporting that this is due to threats by an imprisoned crime boss to harm him if his prison conditions aren’t improved.

Mualem is reportedly suspected of refraining from arresting far-right extremists suspected of Jewish terrorism at the request of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. He is also suspected of allegedly leaking intelligence information to the minister’s office, who allegedly promised him a promotion in return.

Yaakobi is said to be suspected of informing Mualem of the probe against him. While many details remain under gag order, he is also reportedly suspected of having asked a police officer to request that another person remove certain messages on the Telegram app that were deemed detrimental to Ben Gvir.