Last update - 00:00 19/02/2007
Dichter: I will submit Ganot appointment to cabinet as soon as possible
By Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondent
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter said Monday he is determined to submit Yaakov Ganot's appointment as police commissioner to the cabinet for ratification as soon as possible.
Dichter told Haaretz he had told Ganot of his intention to appoint him two months ago. Dichter said he would have fired Police Commissioner Moshe Karadi had he not resigned Sunday.
If Ganot's appointment fails to meet the legal criteria, Dichter said he would not appoint Major General Micky Levy instead, because Levy did not fulfill the requirements the minister had set for the commissioner's post.
Dichter said that all but one or two candidates to whom he had offered the job rejected it out of hand.
He also criticized Justice (retired) Yitzhak Zamir, who blasted Ganot's appointment on Monday.
Zamir, who had been on the panel of judges that ruled on Ganot's appeal 13 years ago against a conviction of charges such as fraud and bribery, spoke out against his appointment for police commissioner on Israel Radio on Monday.
Dichter said the objections to Ganot's appointment due to his trial and the criticism accompanying his acquittal were to be expected. He said there was no reason not to appoint Ganot, despite the criticism.
"A stain, as complicated as it may be, cannot become an obstacle to the commissioner's appointment," he said. "It has been 13 years since the incident. Some stains stay for life, but I would be very careful before saying the matter at hand is such a case," he said.
Dichter said that Zamir, as a justice who ruled in Ganot's case, "should consider what effect his statement could have and how it could influence those who must decide on the matter."
"It has been 13 years since Zamir ruled on the issue and he spoke without knowing what happened afterward. Ganot has done a few things in his life since then, he has served in senior posts. I hope people will weigh his stumble against the many things he has accomplished," he said.
Speaking of his intention to fire Karadi had he not resigned, Dichter said that "the Zeiler Committee only set the time. I had reached the conclusion that I could not continue in this format five or six months after entering office, and that a significant change was required. It was then that I started looking (for another police commissioner)."
Dichter said he had decided on Ganot some two months ago. "I made it clear to him that he could enter office any time between then and July 31, Karadi's original retirement date."
"I interviewed candidates from the most senior security milieu, the creme de la creme, but apart from one or two nobody could do it. Amram Mitzna was one of the candidates I approached, but I realized it wouldn't work out. Other candidates recoiled from the post," he said.
"I think I examined every single relevant candidate. Ganot was the best, the most suitable and had the highest chances of succeeding in the job. It wasn't easy for me to see serious senior figures recoil from the job," he said.
Dichter said he had not considered candidates from among police major generals.
"The district comanders weren't relevant as far as I was concerned. They do not meet the criteria I set for the post," Dichter said. Shortly after entering office I said that candidates for commissioner will have to be deputy commissioner first. I will position the next deputy commissioners so that they answer the criteria of contending for commissioner. By the time a new commissioner is appointed there will be two candidates in the deputy's post who will be able to run for the top position."
Dichter intends to submit Ganot's appointment to the Tirkel Committee, the body that authorizes appointments to the public service, for approval within a few days. "In the event of a police commissioner's resignation, a new one should be appointed as soon as possible," he said.