The police's Lahav 433 unit -- tasked with investigating national crimes and corruption -- summoned former IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi for questioning under caution on Thursday over what has come to be known as the Harpaz affair.
The Harpaz affair, which began in 2010, involves an alleged plot by Lt. Col. (res.) Boaz Harpaz to sabotage the appointment of Yoav Galant as Ashkenazi's successor at the helm of the IDF. The affair revealed a bitter rivalry between Ashkenazi and then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak involving both sides allegedly spying and disseminating misinformation on one another.
On August 6, 2010, the Harpaz document, initially known as the Galant document, was made public by Channel 2 News. The document, which was ultimately revealed as a forgery, included instructions on how to sabotage Ashkenazi, who was serving as IDF chief at the time but was about to hand the position over to his successor, who had not yet been named. The document underscored the tension between Ashkenazi and Barak.
Several days later, the police launched an investigation after media adviser Eyal Arad filed a complaint, alleging that the document, printed on his letterhead, was forged.
The police tried to obtain the original document right away, but it was four days before Ashkenazi told the attorney-general that he had it. Several weeks later, the police concluded that the document was in fact forged and that Harpaz was behind the forgery. At the time, Harpaz was considered Ahkenazi's close associate and a confidant of Ashkenazi's wife Ronit.
After the document was ruled a forgery, the military police continued to investigate. New evidence, including recorded conversations between Ashkenazi and his staff, as well as Ashkenazi and Harpaz, who confessed to falsifying the document, the attorney-general decided to launch a criminal probe into the affair.
It was further revealed that at the time, Harpaz maintained a close relationship with Ronit Ashkenazi, sending her no fewer than 1,500 text messages on the topic. It was suspected that Ronit leaked details of the investigation to Harpaz. Channel 1 News revealed that Ronit even mediated between Harpaz and her husband and a Mexican business man in efforts to seal a real estate deal that ended up falling through. It was also reported that she helped Harpaz gather information on building code violations at the home of Galant -- Barak's choice for IDF chief of staff. Ultimately, it was the insinuation of a building code violation that likely cost Galant the post.
As the investigation progressed, investigators grew increasingly convinced that Ashkenazi and his associates "plotted" against Barak. The police summoned dozens of witnesses, including Barak himself, but most of the focus was on Ashkenazi. He and most of his close associates have been questioned under caution.
On Thursday, Ashkenazi said that he planned to "fully cooperate with investigators in hopes of getting at the truth in the affair."
Cabinet Secretary Avichai Mendelblit, formerly the chief military advocate general, was also investigated under caution this week on suspicion of breach of trust in connection with the affair.