Religious Zionist Party MK Ohad Tal demanded in a letter to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana earlier this week that the Knesset establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) department that deals with acts of Jewish terrorism.
The demand came after the department head, as reported by Channel 11, was recorded calling Jewish suspects in the West Bank “shmucks” and saying that his department arrests individuals “even without evidence” for a few days.
In the recording, the Shin Bet officer directed Israel Police Supt. Avishai Moalem, then head of the Judea and Samaria District Police, to “put them in detention cells with rats.”
Moalem has since been suspended over a criminal investigation into the alleged leaking of sensitive information from police investigations to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in exchange for promotion.
Following the recordings being made public, the Shin Bet Jewish Department head said he would take a leave of absence while the agency conducts an inquiry into the matter.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted to block Shin Bet head Ronen Bar from overseeing the inquiry due to the government’s ongoing attempt to fire Bar.
A-G: The PM cannot intervene
However, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara wrote in a letter that the inquiry was fully a part of the Shin Bet’s authority, and the prime minister could not intervene.
Tal wrote in his letter to Ohana, “The recent recordings publicized by Ayala Hasson on KAN 11 raise grave suspicions about the operations of the Shin Bet’s Jewish Department, including the detention of civilians without evidence, actions by senior officials infused with hatred toward a distinct group of citizens, and their placement in detention cells illegally and with cruelty. Only in dark regimes can a secret service operate in such a way."
“Moreover, the decision of the attorney-general to keep the investigation of the affair within the Shin Bet itself raises serious concerns about a conflict of interest involving the head of the Shin Bet and casts significant doubt on the possibility of an independent and transparent investigation,” Tal continued.
“The conduct of a secret police force in violation of the law, severely infringing on the basic rights of citizens, constitutes a grave harm to the democratic foundations of the State of Israel and must be thoroughly and independently investigated.
“Therefore, immediately upon the opening of the [Knesset] summer session, I will request to bring to a vote a proposal for the agenda, according to which the Knesset – as the body overseeing the branches of government – will establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry to thoroughly, transparently, and independently examine the conduct of the Jewish Department within the Shin Bet.
If necessary, it will also investigate the backing its leaders received for criminal behavior from the head of the Shin Bet himself,” Tal wrote.
Parliamentary commissions of inquiry are appointed by the Knesset to deal with issues that the body sees as being of special national significance.
