State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss announced on Monday that he had instructed his office to take part in the ongoing police investigation of the relationship between Boaz Harpaz and former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. The announcement came in light of recent discoveries made by Channel One TV reporter Ayala Hasson. The Harpaz affair began in August 2010, Lt. Col. (res.) Boaz Harpaz was suspected of involvement in the forgery of the "Galant document," which outlined fictitious plans to damage the reputations of senior Israeli Defense Forces officers. The purpose of the forged document was to persuade people that Galant, who was a candidate for Chief of General Staff, had hired a public relations firm to besmirch the other candidates. Harpaz, a businessman who served in Military Intelligence, was out of the country when he was revealed to be a suspect in the case. During a ribbon-cutting event for the new headquarters for the Public Complaints Commissioner in Lod, Lindenstrauss said that his office was preparing a report on the issue, and senior IDF officers had already been interviewed. Lindenstrauss stressed that his office would examine the new discoveries revealed by Hasson, investing time and effort in clarifying the matter. Hasson's revelations apparently cast further doubts on the direction of the police investigation. According to Hasson, Harpaz and Ashkenazi's wife, Ronit, exchanged at least 1,500 text messages. Hasson also said that Harpaz and Ashkenazi had discussed appointments of senior IDF officers. When the controversy first broke, Ashkenazi insisted that Harpaz was not someone who had visited his home. However, Hasson said that Ronit, his wife, had mediated between Harpaz and residents of Galant's hometown of Amikam, who reportedly possessed information detrimental to Galant. Hasson also reported that Ashkenazi informed Harpaz that the document slandering Galant was about to be leaked to Channel 2 news, two hours before the news program began. Ashkenazi denied the allegation and said he knew about the leak only half an hour before the report was aired. Ashkenazi aides said they preferred to comment only when the Comptroller's investigation ends. According to his aides, when Ashkenazi and his wife were interrogated by police, they replied to all the questions they were asked, which included questions relating to the revelations reported by Channel 1 news. During his interrogation by police, Harpaz admitted to forging the Galant document, but said he worked on the document alone. In January, the state prosecutor informed Harpaz of their intention to indict him, after a hearing, on charges of forgery under extreme circumstances and use of a forged document.
