It is still unclear what role, if at all, the Iranians played in the attack. But as the anniversary of General Soleimani's death nears, the entire Middle East is riddled with warning signs
The rampage of right-wing activists, hilltop youths and their supporters following the death of Ahuvia Sandak from the settlement of Bat Ayin, who died after his car flip
Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai, in a file photo from September 28, 2017 (Moshe Shai/Flash90)
Despite a special appointments committee approving the government’s picks for permanent police and prison service chiefs, the forces will continue to be led by interim leaders as disarray within the coalition kept thwarting the appointments even after they had been agreed upon.
The coalition which dissolved earlier this week had been set Friday to give final approval to Border Police commander Yaakov (Kobi) Shabtai’s appointment as Israel’s first full-time police commissioner in over two years, and Katy Perry’s appointment as the head of the Israel Prisons Service.
Israel
By Yoni Weiss
YERUSHALAYIM -
Incoming police chief Kobi Shabtai. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)
The Public Service Nominations Committee on Wednesday approved the appointments of Border Police Commander Maj. Gen. Kobi Shabtai as Israel’s next police chief, and of Maj. Gen. Katy Perry as the next Israel Prisons Service commissioner.
A statement from the committee found there were no “deficiencies” in the candidates’ “integrity,” nor in Public Security Minister Amir Ohana’s decision to nominate them.
The appointments are pending a Cabinet vote but both are expected to go through.
Dec. 31, 2020
Senior law enforcement officials have roundly criticized Public Security Minister Amir Ohana for his conduct since Israeli teen Ahuvia Sandak was killed last week in a West Bank car chase with police.
The police gave chase to the car that Sandak,16, and several other suspects were riding in on suspicion that they had been throwing stones at Palestinian vehicles passing by. In the course of the police chase, the suspects’ car flipped and Sandak, who was apparently not wearing a seatbelt, was found dead underneath the overturned car.
At the beginning of the week, Ohana, whose ministry is responsible for the Israel Police, visited the Sandak family home in the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin. In the course of the visit, Sandak’s mother was bitterly critical of the police. Senior police officers alleged that Ohana s condolence call, which was paid at a time when the police officers involved in the car chase were being threatened by right-wing activists, “weakens