Police raid Foreign Ministry over diplomatic passports for Likud bigwigs, PM’s son
Investigators search offices, seize evidence; former foreign minister Eli Cohen reported to have overridden staff to issue documents to individuals who were not eligible for them
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Police investigators raided the Foreign Ministry’s offices in Jerusalem on Wednesday over suspicions that it had improperly issued diplomatic passports to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair as well as a number of prominent members of his ruling Likud party.
“This morning, investigators from the Israel Police National Fraud Investigation Unit in Lahav 433 conducted a search at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Jerusalem and seized materials as part of an investigation into the suspected issuance of diplomatic passports to individuals who were not eligible for them,” the police said in a statement.
A covert investigation was launched several weeks ago, the statement noted, adding that investigators had searched the offices and seized relevant documents to aid in the probe.
According to the Haaretz daily, former foreign minister Eli Cohen will likely be questioned as part of the probe, which will look into how Yair Netanyahu was granted a diplomatic passport, even though children of prime ministers over the age of 18 are not eligible.
Cohen — who was replaced by Israel Katz in January — ordered diplomatic passports to be issued to prominent members of his Likud party, acting against the advice of counsel from professional staff in his office, Haaretz reported in December.
Diplomatic passports are meant to be used by high-ranking government officials to allow them to travel abroad with more ease.
Per the report, a panel of ministry professionals adjudicating Cohen’s requests for the diplomatic passports ruled against issuing them, but Foreign Ministry Director-General Ronen Levy overruled the committee, informing members that he was doing so on specific instructions from Cohen.
Among the Likud members who allegedly received a diplomatic passport were Binyamin Regional Council chairman Yisrael Gantz, Dimona Mayor Benny Biton, Sdot Negev Regional Council chairman Tamir Idan, and Merhavim Regional Council chairman Shay Hajaj.
Addressing the Knesset State Control Committee last December, representatives of Israel’s diplomatic service pushed back against the report, telling lawmakers that ministry officials had acted legally and within the bounds of their authority.
Foreign Ministry Deputy Director General Yossi Dayan argued that there were “specific reasons” for each of the Likud-linked officials to receive passports — citing Idan’s involvement in an initiative to bring in foreign agricultural workers and Gantz’s work as head of the foreign desk of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization representing local authorities in settlements.
As for Yair Netanyahu, Dayan explained that holding a diplomatic passport would allow the Shin Bet security detail to continue protecting the premier’s son when he travels abroad.
The younger Netanyahu has been in Miami for much of the past year, although the Ynet news site said he was seen in Jerusalem on Tuesday, surrounded by bodyguards. According to government data, the Shin Bet spent over NIS 1 million ($265,000) protecting Yair last year.
According to national broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu has requested diplomatic passports for family members from the director general of the Foreign Ministry on four occasions since 2009.
As of last December, there were 5,651 diplomatic passports in circulation, of which 1,462 were issued to non-Foreign Ministry personnel, according to the Knesset Information and Research Center.
Foreign Ministry representatives told lawmakers that only a few of those were the result of Cohen overriding the panel.
The Foreign Ministry declined to comment on Wednesday morning’s raid.
In a statement, the Movement for the Quality of Government welcomed the police investigation, calling it an “important step on the way to uncovering the truth and ensuring proper administration in government institutions.”
“A few months ago we submitted a petition to the High Court demanding the cancellation of the diplomatic passports issued to political associates, including the prime minister’s son, claiming that the decision was made contrary to the recommendations of the professional bodies,” the watchdog group said.
“The suspicion of issuing diplomatic passports to those who are not entitled to them strengthens the claims we made in our petition and raises weighty questions about the correctness of Foreign Ministry procedures.”
Speaking with The Times of Israel, an Israeli diplomatic source said they were “positive our diplomats are doing their best to obey the law.”
“They have no political affiliation or aspirations. Our consular employees section is doing an amazing job all year round, literally days and nights, to assist Israelis around the world. There’s nothing similar…in any other foreign service. If the police find some irregularities it’s a shame, they will have to bear responsibility for that.”
