The Cabinet voted unexpectedly Sunday to order a judicial inquiry into allegations that agents of the General Security Services (GSS) lied to a military tribunal which convicted former Israel Defense Force officer Izat Nafsu of espionage and treason in 1981 and sentenced him to 18 years’ imprisonment.
Nafsu’s conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court last Sunday and the 32-year-old Circassian soldier was released. The high court, in its ruling, affirmed his charge that the GSS, also known as Shin Bet, fabricated evidence and extracted a confession by illegal means.
The Cabinet’s decision came as a surprise since most ministers, including Premier Yitzhak Shamir and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, had opposed a judicial inquiry. Shamir and Peres consulted with their Cabinet colleagues Friday but it appeared unlikely, according to an Israel Radio report, that the matter would be raised at Sunday’s session. Apparently the ministers preferred a judicial inquiry to the police investigation Attorney General Yosef Harish ordered of GSS personnel last Friday. That investigation is likely to be delayed until a judicial commission reports its findings.
Shamir, on May 22, named former State Comptroller Yitzhak Tunik and former Mossad chief Zvi Zamir to comprise a commission of inquiry to study the operational methods of the GSS and make recommendations. The composition of the judicial commission is not yet known.
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