Prisons chief sabotaged investigation into West Bank cop, says police-probing unit
AG’s office said to mull charging Kobi Yaakobi with obstructing probe into senior officer who allegedly ignored settler attacks in hopes of pleasing Minister Ben Gvir

The Justice Ministry’s internal police affairs division is considering charging Israel Prison Service Chief Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi with obstructing their ongoing investigation into a top West Bank cop, the Haaretz daily reported on Sunday.
Last month, investigators with the Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) announced that they suspected Commander Avishai Muallem, who heads the West Bank police’s investigations and intelligence unit, of turning a blind eye to settler violence in hopes of pleasing far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Muallem is suspected to have repeatedly faked probes into Jewish nationalist attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, creating the appearance of a thorough investigation while letting perpetrators go unpunished.
While the investigation was still under wraps, Yaakobi reportedly informed Muallem over a wiretapped phone call that a probe against him was underway.
Muallem phoned Yaakobi, a Ben Gvir appointee who remains close to the ultranationalist minister, requesting a promotion. Yaakobi told Muallem that a promotion would be impossible, revealing to him that he was under investigation (Hebrew link).
Sources in the enforcement agency told Haaretz that the phone call constituted “classic obstruction” and provided them with “conclusive” evidence for an indictment against Yaakobi. He is expected to be charged with obstruction and breach of trust, since the call also suggests he interfered in police appointments.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Prosecutor Amit Aisman have yet to file an indictment against the prisons chief, and he remains in his position for the time being.
Ben Gvir lambasted the DIPI’s investigation into Yaakobi on Sunday, accusing the division of “fabricating a case against an outstanding officer” in a post on X.
“I fully back the IPS Chief Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi against the State Prosecutor’s briefing in the terrorist newspaper Haaretz, according to which it intends to file an indictment against him,” he wrote. “The DIPI, on the orders of the State Attorney and Attorney General, is abusing him because he is implementing the minister’s policy.”
Ben Gvir himself has repeatedly criticized investigations into settler violence by Israeli authorities, which he characterized as “selective persecution of right-wing people.”
In a statement last month regarding Muallem’s arrest, Ben Gvir’s office recalled his vow upon becoming minister, that the days of “unlawfully harming the hilltop youth had ended.”
“Hilltop youth” refers to radical settler activists who establish illegal outposts in the West Bank. Many of these activists have been involved in violence, theft and arson against Palestinians and their property.
During a December interrogation, Yaakobi reportedly denied that he had any knowledge of an investigation into Muallem. His version contradicts that of his aide, Lior Abudraham, who told the DIPI that he informed his boss of the probe.
DIPI investigators have twice arrested Muallem — the first instance as part of their initial probe, the second on the suspicion that while suspended from his job, he contacted his department and ask they send him classified materials. Last week, Muallem’s suspension was extended by a month.
Muallem is suspected of giving and taking bribes, breach of trust and failing to prevent a crime in deliberately ignoring the Shin Bet’s intelligence information about Jewish terror suspects.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.