Israel Defense Forces chief Gabi Ashkenazi and other top-brass army officers are not implicated in the release of the so-called Galant document, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein said on Thursday, indicating that Defense Minister Ehud Barak may resume the selection process of a new IDF chief that was halted in the wake of the document’s release.
The AG’s statement came as Israel Police issued a statement alleging that no was found that "any of the workers of the defense minister’s staffers as well as of the IDF command were involved in the preparation of the document."
"Suspicion that the IDF chief or other members of the IDF command were involved in the preparation of the document are completely unfounded," the statement added.
The document, revealed by Channel 2 news two weeks ago, reportedly includes details of a public relations campaign intended to sow division between Barak and current army chief Ashkenazi by supporting the appointment of GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant to succeed the latter.
Police officials have already indicated that they believed the document was forged, as part of a plot involving current and retired senior IDF officers to influence the appointment of a new army chief.
Weinstein had ordered the deferral of the IDF chief appointment process almost two weeks ago, following a request from Barak and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to investigate the affair.
In his first public remarks concerning the document, Ashkenzai said Wednesday that he trusted authorities would bring the truth to light.
"The IDF has been cooperating with the investigation for ten days," Ashkenazi told an audience attending a graduation ceremony for IDF officers in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening. "All I can say is we are relying on Israel Police to bring the truth to light as soon as possible."
Ashkanazi told police on Tuesday that the “Galant document” was in his possession for weeks and that he did nothing with it. He gave a copy to the police, causing them to defer their request for a court order to force Channel 2 to release its copy of the document.
While Ashkenazi was not suspected of any criminal offense, he has come under fire for failing to hand immediately to police a document that seems to suggest a conspiracy to cause a rift between him and Barak.
Dozens of people have given statements to police in connection to the affair. Investigators are expected to begin questioning suspects under caution.