Last update - 00:00 25/02/2007
Court: Petitions against Ganot police chief appointment premature
By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondent
The High Court of Justice ruled on Sunday that petitions filed against the appointment of Israel Prisons Service commissioner Yaakov Ganot to the post of police commissioner are premature, but will not be discarded.
The High Court ruled that the Turkel committee, Turkel Committee, the body that authorizes appointments to the public service, would decide whether Ganot is fit to serve as police commissioner. The court added that the jurisdiction of the Turkel committee is at times even wider than the court's.
State Prosecutor's Office representative attorney Dina Zilber announced on Sunday that the Turkel committee would convene on Monday for a preliminary hearing on Ganot's candidacy for the position. Zilber spoke during a High Court hearing on three petitions filed with the court in efforts to prevent Ganot's appointment.
The petitioners against Ganot, The non-profit watchdog organization Omets, The Movement for Quality Government and the Land of Israel Legal Forum, contend that Ganot is unsuitable because he was tried for criminal offenses in the past and admitted committing disciplinary offenses.
At the end of the High Court hearing, Justices Ayala Procaccia, Edmond Levy and Miryam Naor said they would soon determine whether the court would address the petitions after the Turkel committee releases its findings, or after Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, based on the Turkel decision, makes his recommendation regarding the appointment to the cabinet.
Ganot's attorney Yaakov Weinrot on Thursday submitted to the High Court a response to the petitions filed against his client saying that Ganot successfully served in a series of positions in which "he was required to delineate a clear policy on matters that included dealing with public corruption. In one such case, he headed a strategic think tank dealing with severe crime in modern society," as a result of which the police's international unit was formed.
"Reading the petitions against Ganot, one might think that Ganot is immersed in fault, but this is not so. Ganot is a decorated officer and his resume is a model of a life of selfless sacrifice," added Weinrot.