Former Israel Defense Forces Chief of General Staff and Blue and White Knesset candidate Gabi Ashkenazi undermined former Defense Minister Ehud Barak to the point that the latter had to file a complaint with the Israel Police, Israel Hayom has learned.
Ashkenazi's tenure as military chief under Barak, between 2007 and 2011, saw the two constantly lock horns. This ultimately led to Barak choosing not to extend Ashkenazi's term, which led to another saga known as the Harpaz Affair, in which a person close to Ashkenazi tried to derail the appointment of his successor.
Ashkenazi was investigated by police after the affair broke as a suspect of a criminal collusion but prosecutors ultimately decided not to indict him. In recent weeks his actions have come under renewed scrutiny in light of his decision to enter the Knesset race as a prominent figure in Blue and White, which has a realistic shot at becoming the largest faction in the Knesset and possibly even forming a government.
A new document unearthed by Israel Hayom shows that in 2014 Barak sent a letter to the Israel Police's National Fraud Unit containing damning language against Ashkenazi. "In light of the recent reports, I feel that the investigation has not been as comprehensive as it should have been," Barak wrote, and warned that the investigators must not overlook the gravity of the matter. He accused Ashkenazi and his associates of "trying to undermine elected officials in areas that are of paramount importance, including by means of interference with the legal process to appoint a chief of general staff, as well as interference with operational matters that I will not elaborate on due to their sensitive nature."
Barak further said that "Ashkenazi, as far as I can tell and in light of the evidence, was part of a group that acted in a criminal manner in an attempt to severely cripple the fundamentals of Israel's democracy, including by challenging the notion that the civilian echelon is superior to the military." Barak added that he would like the letter to be regarded as an official complaint with the police.
Blue and White dismissed the Israel Hayom report and issued the following statement: "Investigators pored over transcripts of hundreds of thousands of conversations and testimonies. Law enforcement agencies, including the attorney general and state attorney, have already ruled on the matter and people are sick and tired of this slander and incitement by means of biased and rehashed leaks."
