Police clash with judicial chiefs over Sde Teiman prison abuse probe, then back down

Police on Thursday accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Aisman of failing to contact law enforcement about their probe into three politicians’ roles in July’s break-in to Sde Teiman military base but later walked back the charge.

In an unusual public rebuke, police alleged that Baharav-Miara and Aisman skipped over law enforcement and went straight to the media with their announcement of the investigation.

“It saddens us that the State Attorney’s Office and Attorney General are choosing to contact the Israel Police via the media and not directly and openly,” the spokesman said.

But the agency backtracked a few hours later upon realizing that the judicial officials did indeed notify police of the probe the day prior. The message apparently never made its way up the chain of command to Israel Police Commissioner Danny Levy.

“The Attorney General’s approval to open an investigation was sent to the head of the investigations and intelligence unit yesterday evening,” a spokesman clarified in a follow-up statement.

Deputy Commissioner Boaz Balat, who heads the unit, “had not yet managed to update the police chief regarding the matter,” leading to the confusion, police said.

The spokesman emphasized that the police maintain “excellent working relations” with the Attorney General and State Attorney’s Office.

According to a Channel 12 report about the investigation announced Wednesday, two members of the government — Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (Otzma Yehudit) and MK Nissim Vaturi (Likud) — and former MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism) were set to be questioned under caution.

The politicians were among dozens of far-right activists who rioted outside the base on July 29, 2024, after nine IDF soldiers were detained by Military Police investigators amid allegations of severe abuse against a Palestinian security prisoner.

In their original statement criticizing Baharav-Miara and Aisman, police said they would not investigate the three politicians until “an official request is received” from the two. This was not the first time that police have bristled at calls to investigate the ultranationalist riots.

In December, Haaretz reported that officers identified some 20 people — including Knesset members — involved in the break-in, but did not file any indictments due to internal opposition from senior officials in the force. IDF sources reportedly expressed misgivings about the police’s conduct during their joint investigation into the break-in, launched two weeks after the fact.