Minister of Justice announced that he does not intend to appoint a replacement for Dan Eldad • Meaning: Mandelblit will continue to hold office - and with authority to prevent the publication of the tape from the Harpaz affair

Just a day after he took office, Justice Minister of the Blue and White Party MK Avi Nissenkorn sent a letter to Civil Service Commissioner Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, announcing that he would not, at this time, take up the post of State Attorney. This means that Attorney General Dr. Abihai Mandelblit will continue to hold this position as well.

Mendelblit: "Do not deviate from my recommendation as to the Deputy State Attorney" // Photo: Shmuel Buchris

Mendelblit will continue as Deputy State Attorney until the new government appoints a permanent State Attorney, an appointment that, according to the coalition agreement, must be carried out with the agreement of the parties. If the parties fail to reach an agreement on the appointment of a new State Attorney, then Mandelblit will continue to serve. on duty.

In a letter sent by Minister Nissenkorn to Prof. Hershkowitz, he wrote that "I would like to inform you that upon entering the post of Minister of Justice, I have at this time decided not to appoint an alternate to the post of State Attorney. I intend to examine the various options while consulting with the Attorney General and you."

More on:

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Mandelblit should suspend himself

Remember, two weeks ago, just before Minister Amir Ohana, the outgoing Minister of Justice and the Minister of Internal Security, resigned as Minister of Justice, he attacked the decision of the Mandelblit House and a village under the authority of the House to appoint himself Deputy State Attorney. The main reason for the attempt was to prevent Minister Ohana from claiming that the Office of the Mandelblit was taken by the prosecution because of the Harpaz affair, which was recorded by Mandelblit, then Chief Military Advocate, in a conversation with Gabi Ashkenazi, who was then Chief of Staff.

Minister Ohana's comments were made after Ayala Hasson revealed on the Internet 13 things that were said in a forbidden 2010 publication conversation, between Mandabblit, then chief military attorney, and then Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. Hasson unveiled an excerpt from one of the banned conversations in the publication claiming that the Mandelblit District Court was heard in the role of the commissar, saying a dramatic statement about Ashkenazi. 

Minister Ohana strongly condemned Mendelblit's decision to take on the role of State Attorney, due to Mendelblit's ability, due to the special powers of that role, to influence the publication of the spoken tape and the existence of an inquiry into the matter. In a letter he sent to the commissioner, Ohana wrote: "I disobey the attorney general's alleged authority, as evidenced by a letter he sent today to the State Attorney's Office, appointing himself to the State Attorney's Office, and bearing the overall administrative and professional responsibility for the State Attorney's work, a letter issued by the counsel without counsel And without even knowing me. He cannot take on the role of State Attorney, in the absence of any legal source for that. "

Later in the letter, Minister Ohana also wrote that Mandelblit "is also questioning the possibility of clarifying the truth on issues related to the so-called" Harpaz "affair, as reported by various media reports, including by journalist Ayala Hasson - as of recently."

In response to Ohana's claims, Mandelblit published his own letter stating the main argument of the Supreme Court for the purpose of appropriating a Deputy State Attorney during this period, stating that, during the period of approximately one and a half months, between the termination of former State Attorney Shai Nitzan and his appointment Attorney Dan Eldad for the post of State Attorney, Mandelblit staffed the position.

In a response letter he sent, Mandelblit said, "This interim solution stems from the fact that the powers of the State Attorney are drawn from the powers of the US Attorney, and therefore, in the absence of a permanent State Attorney or the State Attorney, these powers are automatically returned to the Attorney General." 

At the same time, at the end of April, while Minister of Justice Ohana sought to extend the position of Deputy State Attorney, Attorney Dan Eldad, for another three months, Senate Mandelblit sent a letter to the Civil Service Commissioner, Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, in which he strongly condemned Deputy State Attorney Dan Eldad also ruled that there was "a legal impediment to extending his term."

Following Madlblit's letter to the Civil Service Commissioner, Deputy State's Attorney Dan Eldad, sent a letter of his own reply to Prof. Hershkowitz and at the same time, Eldad contacted State Comptroller Netanyahu Engelman to open an inquiry into the President's involvement in the Harpaz affair.