השר אמיר אוחנה
השר אמיר אוחנהצילום: אסתי דזיובוב/TPS

Following the lawsuit filed against him by Nir Hefetz, a state witness in Netanyahu's Case 4000, for revealing details of his investigation, Justice Minister Amir Ohana responded: "I don't regret even one word."

Ohana revealed investigative tactics carried out by the police to exert pressure on Hefetz in a speech in the Knesset.

"I saw that Nir Hefetz filed a lawsuit against me for what I said in the Knesset plenum at the beginning of this month," Ohana wrote on Facebook. "I, of course, didn't receive the lawsuit but its existence somehow reached the media."


"For many weeks I heard the rumors about the horrible investigation carried out against Nir Hafetz: the blackmail threats (destroying the witness's family) and witness tampering - all by law enforcement officials.

"As mentioned, these were rumors that weren't reliable by any means.

"There were also other improper investigative actions, including the conduct of the enforcement officers against the prime minister, against Shaul Elovitch and his family, using the arrest of his son to cause him to switch his lawyer, the recording in the lawyer's consultation room, the incessant leaks from the investigative material in order to blacken Netanyahu's name. These actions that were revealed were already sharply condemned by many parties, including the Bar Association's chairman Avi Haimi, Prof. Ruth Gavison, the undersigned, and many others.

"At the beginning of this month, I was asked to respond to a series of proposals on the subject of 'attacks' on law enforcement officials, including my own. MKs of the opposition asked for this debate - not me.

"What I said at the Knesset was imperative for the parliamentary debate on the issue - it was the core of the debate. It's impossible for a judiciary to hold a discussion on criticism against the law enforcement authorities - without elaborating on what the criticism is.

"In addition, the gag order was not brought to my attention at all. I suppose it was brought to the attention of the media outlets to which it was directed.

"The day before the hearing, on November 5, 2019, a news website published the particulars of the case in great detail, well beyond what I said in the plenum. I didn't say anything in the Knesset that hadn't been publicized beforehand, not only in the media but also in all modern and up-to-date media (Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp), which publicized also names, pictures and details - far more intimate and detailed.

"The year, remember, is 2019.

"In addition, it's not possible to violate a gag order that wasn't brought to your attention (even the existence of the gag order was banned from publication, so you can ask whether anyone who claimed that I violated a gag order didn't violate the gag order himself).


"In any case, I had no material to publish, other than what was already published in the many media outlets. Remember - I'm not an investigator, I don't have the investigation material - only what was published.

"The discussion of whether immunity was intended or not intended for incidents such as these, assumes that an aberration was made - which, as I said, did not exist.

"It is clear, of course, that I said this in a relevant debate in the Knesset with the aim of responding to the proposals against "attacks" against law enforcement officials.

"Nir Hafetz is a victim. I agree.

"Those who violated his privacy, those who interfered in his personal affairs in order to extort him and pressure him - which in my opinion is grounds for dismissal of the investigation - those whose ends justified all means, were, unfortunately, the official law enforcement authorities of the State of Israel.

"I personally, unlike many others, have no ugly stories about his personality and behavior. I've heard others who have known him for many years, who condemn him very bluntly and harshly. As for myself, the few interactions I had with him were positive.

"It is clear to me that his life has changed beyond recognition, but this happened long before I spoke in the Knesset.

"It is clear to anyone of intelligence that I wasn't trying to 'threaten the witness' or violate his privacy. The goal was - and will continue to be - to expose the vicious investigative practices that were used, and unfortunately, not for the first time.

"This foolish method of carrying out such problematic investigative actions (and, according to a Globes report, the party who carried it out has been removed from office) - and then issuing a gag order so they're not publicized - cannot withstand the test of democracy.

"We're not a police state, and every authority - including the law enforcement authorities - must be open to public scrutiny in general, and parliamentary in particular.