Energy Minister Eli Cohen was questioned by police investigators on Wednesday as a possible suspect over allegations that diplomatic passports were unlawfully issued to several Likud mayors as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair.
Cohen was serving as foreign minister at the time the passports were issued.
Cohen, who was grilled by investigators from the Lahav 433 serious crime unit, posted on X that he had been “asked to give my version of events” about the affair, and said that the investigation involved only four diplomatic passports, which he said had been issued by the director general of the ministry.
He said that Yair Netanyahu’s diplomatic passport had been renewed several times since 2009 by several ministry directors due to the premier’s son’s security detail.
Cohen additionally said that the issuance of diplomatic passports for three mayors had been done “in accordance with ministry procedures” due to their “international activities,” and insisted that such passports have been issued for similar reasons to other mayors in the past.
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It was previously reported that among the Likud members who allegedly received a diplomatic passport were Binyamin Regional Council chairman Yisrael Ganz, Dimona Mayor Benny Biton, Sdot Negev Regional Council chairman Tamir Idan, and Merhavim Regional Council chairman Shay Hajaj. It was unclear why Cohen only referred to three mayors.
Yair Netanyahu arrives for a court hearing in Tel Aviv, on November 29, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90/ File)
Pushing back against the probe, Cohen said it should have “never been opened” but that “as a law-abiding citizen” he was willing to answer any questions about the matter.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel welcomed the police questioning of the minister, noting that the investigation was prompted by its petition to the High Court of Justice against diplomatic passports being issued to political associates of cabinet ministers.
“Now that [it has emerged] that the investigation is well-founded, we demand that the authorities act immediately: Collect the diplomatic passports that were distributed illegally and are still in the hands of those who are not entitled to them, and bring to justice all those involved in the affair,” the organization said.
Earlier this year, Yair Netanyahu testified to the police Lahav 433 major crimes unit as part of the probe.
The younger Netanyahu, who has been residing in the US state of Florida for the last few years, is not himself a suspect in the affair, but was summoned to testify while visiting Israel. According to Haaretz, his testimony lasted about an hour.
Illustrative: Israeli passports in Jerusalem, January 18, 2023. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
As part of the investigation, police investigators are reportedly going over all diplomatic passports issued during Cohen’s tenure, between December 2022 and January 2024.
The investigation began in mid-2024 and led investigators to raid Foreign Ministry offices and confiscate materials. The probe followed a Haaretz report from December 2023 that said Cohen had gone against the advice of his office’s legal counsel to issue diplomatic passports to prominent members of his Likud party.
Diplomatic passports are generally for high-ranking government officials to allow them to travel abroad with more ease.
According to the Haaretz report, a panel of ministry professionals adjudicating Cohen’s requests for diplomatic passports ruled against issuing them, but Foreign Ministry Director-General Ronen Levy overruled the committee, informing members that he was doing so on specific instructions from Cohen.
Sam Sokol contributed to this report.
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