"From the point of view of Israel, we don’t interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," said Shavit from Jerusalem. The official ruled out that the embassy in Buenos Aires had provided information in favour of Palacios, the former head of the Federal Police anti-terrorism unit, and said that there "is no discussion" about it.
"The State of Israel doesn’t have any position toward the appointment of Palacios because it is an internal debate and the State of Israel as a sovereign country can’t interfere in an internal issue," Shavit said.
On Monday, Eldad denied that he had recommended Palacios to head the Metropolitan police, as Macri’s administration argued. "I haven’t met or know who Palacios is. I think there was a mistake," Eldad, who is in Jerusalem, told the AJN when he was asked if he had recommended Palacios, who resigned last year on charges of being a member of an illegal spy ring that worked within the Macri administration.
"The truth is I am very surprised about this matter, I don’t want to get involved in any controversy that has happened in Buenos Aires," said Eldad, who is currently responsible for the Latin American Jewish communities at the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Buenos Aires City Government’s Chief-of-staff Marcos Peña said Eldad had endorsed Palacios as candidate to head the Metropolitan Police.
"Ambassador Eldad endorsed the appointment of Palacios," Peña said in statements published by the Noticias Urbanas website. In the same interview, Peña said that "Rafael Eldad, who was Israel’s ambassador in 2008, was the one who said that Palacios was a friend of Israel."
Palacios was named head of the newly-created Metropolitan Police last year even though he was being probed on charges that he blocked the investigation into the attack against the AMIA Jewish community association headquarters in 1994. Before the courts indicted Palacios in the AMIA probe, it was established that he was also linked to the wiretapping of telephones, including that of Sergio Burstein, the head of the AMIA victims’ relatives association.