Israeli Attorney General Orders Police Probe Into Likud Members' Alleged False Affidavits to Supreme Court

Israel's Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Isman have instructed the police to investigate whether Likud party members submitted false affidavits to the Supreme Court regarding the 2023 State Comptroller election. The court had invalidated the appointment of attorney Michael Rebhilo as State Comptroller after ruling that the Knesset's voting process violated the law by requiring members to film their votes, compromising ballot secrecy.

The Likud party declared in court affidavits that no instructions were given to Knesset members to record themselves voting, and that any such recordings were voluntary. However, MK Sharren Haskel submitted a supplementary affidavit contradicting this, stating that members were indeed instructed to film their votes and that these recordings were sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Due to this direct contradiction between Haskel's testimony and the Likud party's affidavits, the Attorney General has ordered the police to take an open testimony from Haskel, not as a suspect. Should she confirm her statements, authorities will decide whether to open a criminal investigation on suspicion of submitting false affidavits to the Supreme Court.

Haskel's affidavit was part of a petition seeking to allow her to split from the Right-Wing State faction after resigning as Deputy Foreign Minister. Journalist Avishay Greenzeit reported that Haskel claimed members of the New Hope party were required to document their votes during repeated rounds of the State Comptroller election, contradicting previous affidavits by Likud CEO David Sharan and several Likud MKs who denied any such requirement.

This investigation follows the Supreme Court's decision that the voting procedure violated legal standards, leading to the annulment of Rebhilo's appointment as State Comptroller.