State attorney slams bill subordinating internal police probes to politicians, warns of ‘delegitimization’ of law enforcement

State Attorney Amit Aisman says there have been “repeated” attempts to exert influence over decision-makers in law enforcement agencies and undermine public trust, warning that such attempts threaten to erode the foundations of the state.

Speaking at a legal conference at the University of Haifa, the top prosecutor says that amid many challenges facing law enforcement, among them widespread government corruption and rampant organized crime, the law enforcement system is under intense political pressure.

He mentions a law recently passed by the ruling coalition that gives the justice minister direct control over the Department of Internal Police Investigations. “There is fear that the law is meant to create mechanisms that could be used as a means to pressure investigators fulfilling their duties. Deterred investigators will not probe corruption offenses,” he warns.

The law effectively subordinates the agency, which probes criminal suspicions against police officers, to an elected official as opposed to professional prosecutors in the State Attorney’s Office, raising fears that it could politicize criminal cases against police.

“The law enforcement system, with the State Attorney’s Office at its head, is in a double bind. On one hand, there is government corruption, sensitive investigations against those who hold power, and a technological revolution; on the other hand, [there is] social polarization,” he says. “The rule of law is not tested when consensus exists, but rather in conflict and disagreement.”

Though “criticism of the law enforcement system is legitimate and even desirable, Aisman says the behavior of certain politicians amounts to “delegitimization.”

“The struggle against government corruption is not political; it is meant to ensure a simple principle: There is no one who is above the law,” he adds.