Report of Deal on Cabinet Post Prompts Israeli Investigation

JERUSALEM â€”  Israeli police opened an investigation Sunday into allegations that officials in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office conspired to appoint an attorney general who would reduce charges against a political ally.

“If there is a need to take testimony from any civilian in the country--including the prime minister--we will take testimony from him,� Police Commissioner Assaf Hefetz said.

Acting Atty. Gen. Edna Arbel, who ordered the probe, said she will demand that state-owned Channel One television, which broke the story last week, turn over its evidence to police or risk being sued.

Atty. Gen. Roni Bar-On resigned earlier this month--after less than a day in office--amid criticism of his political connections and his fitness for the job. Netanyahu said Sunday that Elyakim Rubinstein, a district court judge in Jerusalem, has accepted the post. Likud Party and opposition figures welcomed the appointment, which the Cabinet is expected to approve Wednesday.

Last Wednesday, Channel One--citing anonymous sources--reported that Bar-On’s appointment was part of an illegal deal between senior officials in Netanyahu’s office and the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party.

According to the report, Shas agreed to vote in favor of the deal on an Israeli pullback from the West Bank city of Hebron that Netanyahu signed with the Palestinians if Bar-On was appointed attorney general. The station said that Bar-On, in turn, agreed to drop a case against Shas leader Aryeh Deri, who is standing trial on corruption charges.