Probe Still Likely into ‘senior Aide’ Scandal Despite Cabinet’s Decision to Replacezamir

The newly appointed Attorney General, Yosef Harish, is not expected to drop the impending investigation of a “senior official” accused of obstructing justice, Justice Minister Yitzhak Modai indicated Monday.

But the probe probably will be conducted, in secrecy, by a special judicial commission instead of by the police as originally instructed by outgoing Attorney General Yitzhak Zamir.

Modai spoke briefly to reporters following a meeting with Harish and Zamir. He also discussed the affair guardedly in an interview published Monday in The Jerusalem Post. He confirmed that he and a majority of senior

The Cabinet announced Sunday that Harish, a 62-year-old Tel Aviv District Court Judge, would replace Zamir, effective Wednesday. Zamir, who held the office for nearly eight years, announced several months ago that he planned to resign but agreed to stay on

ACTION TRIGGERS AGENDA MOTIONS

The Cabinet’s action triggered four urgent agenda motions in the Knesset Monday to

The matter is extremely sensitive because the “senior official” involved, though never officially identified, is generally acknowledged to be Avraham Shalom, head of Shabak, Israel’s internal security and counter-espionage agency

According to Zamir, the “senior official” stands accused of suborning witnesses to perjury, fabrication of evidence and other obstructionist tactics to block an inquiry into the unexplained deaths of two Arab terrorists captured alive by the Israel Defense Force on

In his press interview he made clear that he is actively seeking to prevent a police inquiry ordered by Zamir. It was delayed pending the return of Police Inspector-General David Kraus from a trip

STATE SECURITY AT ISSUE

Modai made no secret of the fact that he and other members of the Inner Cabinet,

But failing to prevent this, he, and Peres, prefer a judicial commission to a police inquiry, Modai said, though Shamir and his Herut colleagues, vehemently oppose any inquiry. Peres and other Labor ministers however, are understood to be ready to accept,

By law, the terms of reference of an inquiry commission are laid down by the Cabinet. This has led some political commentators to suggest that the Cabinet would try to prevent the commission from examining

DELAY “SEEMS INEVITABLE”

Meanwhile, in a later development, Harish indicated that he would probably give

Peres, at the same time, told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he would ask the new Attorney General to ensure the secrecy of whatever investigative procedure he eventually decided upon.