Police say probe into diplomatic passports has evidence against Eli Cohen

Israel Police said on Wednesday that Lahav 433’s fraud investigations unit has finished its probe into the diplomatic passport affair involving former foreign minister Eli Cohen, now energy minister. The case examined suspicions that diplomatic passports were issued to several people who did not meet the requirements, including Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s son.

According to people involved in the investigation, the file contains evidentiary grounds for a breach of trust offense, and the State Attorney’s Office will now decide whether to file indictments. Besides Cohen, the suspects in the case include former Foreign Ministry director general Ronen Levy and former ministerial aide Tali Albaz.

Police said the investigation opened in January 2024, with the attorney general’s approval, on suspicion of breach of trust by Cohen and other senior Foreign Ministry officials in connection with issuing diplomatic passports for improper reasons. Dozens of people were questioned, many documents were seized, and the probe was supervised by the Taxation and Economy division of the State Attorney’s Office. After the investigation was completed, Lahav 433 commander Maj. Gen. Meni Binyamin and the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Boaz Bals, approved transferring the file to prosecutors.

Among those whose passport status was checked were also Dimona Mayor Benny Biton, Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, Merhavim Regional Council head Shay Hajaj, and Sdot Negev Regional Council head Tamir Idan. Police stressed that the passport recipients themselves are not suspects. Cohen’s associates said he welcomed the end of the investigation and was sure “the truth will come out,” adding that Yair Netanyahu’s passport had been renewed for security reasons several times since 2009 and that the local leaders received passports under ministry procedures because of international activity tied to their roles.