A three-man judicial commission to investigate alleged misconduct by the General Security Services (GSS) was appointed by Supreme Court President Meir Shamgar Tuesday. He acted at the formal request of Premier Yitzhak Shamir. The panel is headed by Justice Moshe Landau, a former President of the Supreme Court. Its other members are State Comptroller Judge Yaacov Maltz and Gen. (Res.) Yitzhak Hofi, a former head of Mossad, Israel’s external intelligence agency.
They will convene immediately after the Shavout holiday to plan their schedule and agenda.
The Cabinet voted Sunday to initiate a judicial inquiry into the GSS, also known as Shin Bet, following charges that it fabricated evidence and extracted a confession by illegal means to obtain the conviction by a military tribunal in 1981 of former Israel Defense Force officer Izat Nafsu on charges of treason and espionage.
Nafsu, 32, a Circassian soldier, was sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment. He was released on May 24 by order of the Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction and upheld his charges against the GSS.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
