Israeli Attorney General Urges Supreme Court to Halt Police Investigations Unit Law Implementation

Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has petitioned the Supreme Court to issue an interim injunction stopping the enforcement of the new Police Investigations Department (Mahash) law. She argues the law establishes a politically controlled prosecution unit that will intimidate police officers, investigators, prosecutors, and journalists. The legislation, which transfers Mahash from the Attorney General’s Office to the Ministry of Justice, was approved by the Knesset last month as part of Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s judicial reform agenda. Although the law is set to take effect only with the formation of the next Knesset, the tender for appointing the new department head has already been published.

In her legal position submitted through the Supreme Court department, Baharav-Miara warns that the law marks a profound shift in Israel’s criminal justice system, undermining its professional independence and increasing political influence. She highlights concerns that the law’s effects will extend beyond police investigations to impact citizens’ rights, freedom of protest, anti-corruption efforts, police activity at sports events, and press freedom.

The law grants unprecedented powers to the new Mahash director, who will be appointed by a committee dominated by the Justice Minister or his office director, effectively giving the minister control over both the appointment and dismissal of the unit’s head. It also transfers criminal authority from the Attorney General and prosecutors to the Mahash director and expands the department’s jurisdiction and budget under the Ministry of Justice.

Critics argue the law aims to create a politically dependent enforcement body to "investigate the investigators," lacking professional oversight and vulnerable to political interference in sensitive investigations involving law enforcement, public officials, and citizens. Three petitions against the law have been filed with the Supreme Court, including by the Movement for Quality Government and 23 former senior police officers, among them four ex-police chiefs: Roni Alsheich, Shlomo Aharonishki, Moshe Karadi, and Rafi Peled, alongside civil society organizations.