Senior Israeli Police Officer Alleges Sexual Harassment by Deputy Commissioner Amid Corruption Probe

Alona Shoshan, a senior police officer and head of the Human Resources Division, has accused Deputy Commissioner Lior Abudraham, head of the police spokesperson unit, of sexual harassment. Abudraham denied the allegations during his investigation. The complaint emerged amid a broader probe into associates of Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, conducted by the Police Investigations Department (Mahash).

Abudraham was initially investigated by the Competition Authority as part of a sub-investigation linked to the case against Kobi Yakobi, the Prison Service Commissioner, who faces charges related to allegedly informing Avishi Moalem, former commander of the Judea and Samaria District, about a covert investigation against him. Yakobi denies knowledge of the investigation and claims Abudraham, the key witness against him, had a romantic relationship with a Mahash investigator, which he argues compromised the probe.

During the investigation, Abudraham claimed Shoshan was sent to extract information from him on behalf of Yakobi, and he deliberately provided false information. However, Shoshan testified that Abudraham sexually harassed her, leading to his suspension from police stations and a separate investigation into the harassment claims. Shoshan herself was also questioned under caution on suspicion of witness harassment after questioning Abudraham about the Ben-Gvir associates case.

An official involved in the investigation stated that the recordings made by Abudraham were intended not to aid Yakobi but to provide evidence of the alleged harassment against Shoshan. No response was received from Abudraham's representatives regarding the allegations.