Senior Justice Ministry official Danny Horin said on Sunday that according to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, there is no reason Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu should not be involved in the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC).
In his letter, Horin wrote that as Prime Minister, Netanyahu is authorized to take active interest in matters pertaining to every government office, as long as he does not have a clear conflict of interest.
"Since he is Prime Minister, Netanyahu can involve himself in matters pertaining to any government office," Horin wrote. "The fact that he is no longer Communications Minister does not affect his ability to be involved in the Communications Ministry as the Prime Minister.
"In communications, there are specific situations in which the Prime Minister cannot involve himself in. However, these situations are not the norm, and in general, the Prime Minister can take part in most things without any concern for a conflict of interest.
"Since this is such a sensitive issue, Netanyahu should refrain from dealing with someone with whom he is personally friendly, and should request the Attorney General's approval for Communications Ministry problems which touch on these issues.
"However, under the current Communications Law, there do not seem to currently be any concerns about a conflict of interest."
On Thursday, Netanyahu and Kahlon agreed to split the IPBC into two separate corporations, with the IPBC ceding its news division to the Israel Broadcasting Authority.