Public Security Minister Avi Dichter announced on Friday that he had selected Major General (res.) Amos Yaron, formerly the director-general of the defense ministry, to head an external inquiry into the failings of the police which allowed convicted serial rapist Benny Sela to escape from police custody Friday morning.

Sela, who was serving a 35-year sentence for sexual assault rape and sodomy, escaped from a police vehicle at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Friday morning while being transported to another Tel Aviv courthouse.

Dichter also named Brigadier General (res.) Miki Bar'el, formerly a senior officer in the military police, as well as Brigadier General (res.) Udi Shelvi, formerly the deputy commander of the IDF field corps, to participate in the investigation.

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Representing the police on the inquiry panel will be Brigadier General Bentzi Sau, who was recently ordered to step down from his position as chief of operations at the Public Security Ministry over his alleged misconduct during riots in the north in October 2000.

The committee is slated to conclude the investigation and announce its findings by this coming Thursday.

Dichter assembled the committee for an external investigation after he overruled police chief Moshe Karadi's decision to appoint an internal police committee. Dichter, who was furious over Karadi's decision, convened Karadi and Prisons Service director Ya'akov Ganot for a meeting over what he called a "serious error."