Israel shuffles top cops

Israel’s national police chief resigned. Inspector-General Moshe Karadi announced Sunday that he was quitting after being accused of dereliction of duty by a state-appointed commission investigating alleged ties between senior police personnel and an Israeli crime family. Karadi denied wrongdoing but said he was stepping down to preserve police honor. Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter named Ya’acov Ganot, head of the Prisons Service, as Karadi’s replacement, but the appointment was challenged immediately by watchdog groups that suggested impropriety due to graft accusations against Ganot in 1997. Ganot was cleared for lack of evidence. While Dichter described the police reshuffling as a chance to pursue reform in Israeli law enforcement, media commentators noted that it comes on the heels of several high-level resignations and scandals, and could fuel public unhappiness with national leaders.