Senior Officer Under Bribery Probe Appointed Tiberias City Manager

Senior police officer Avishai Moalem, who recently commanded the Judea and Samaria District (YAMAS) intelligence and investigation unit, is leaving the Israel Police to become the CEO of the Tiberias municipality. The appointment is expected to take effect immediately upon his official resignation from the police, according to a Channel 12 report.

Moalem has been at the center of a complex media and legal affair in recent months. He is under investigation for suspected bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. The central suspicion is that he delayed investigative actions against Jewish terrorism. It is also alleged that he received benefits in exchange for assistance in expunging the criminal record of a businessman.

In a recent interview with Kan 11, Moalem broke his silence, vehemently attacking the Shin Bet, the Police Internal Investigations Department (Mahash), and the State Prosecutor's Office. He claimed he was "framed" due to prolonged confrontations with the Jewish division of the Shin Bet regarding the handling of Jewish crime in Judea and Samaria. Moalem stated that over hundreds of hours of questioning, no evidence was presented linking him to passing information or engaging in illicit activity for National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir or his associates. He even offered to undergo a polygraph test on the matter.

According to Moalem, Shin Bet officials pressured him to make arrests even when evidence was insufficient, and he repeatedly objected. Moalem described a troubled relationship with the Jewish division of the Shin Bet dating back to his tenure as head of the nationalist crime unit.