Government approves appointment of acting police chief

The government approves the appointment of Moאti Cohen as acting Israel Police commissioner, after the government-backed nominee was rejected by a vetting committee.

All ministers taking part in the vote back the nomination of Cohen, who is the Southern District police commander.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri and Welfare Minister Haim Katz don’t vote due to ongoing criminal investigations involving them.

Cohen will serve in the position for 45 days.

The Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, which vets nominees for top positions such as the IDF chief of staff and Bank of Israel governor, on Friday said it could not recommend Moshe “Chico” Edri as the next police chief due to a meeting he held during the nomination process with the lawyer of a whistle blower he is accused of harassing.

The decision by the committee was condemned by a number of top ministers, and Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who picked Edri, said he would still bring Edri’s nomination to a cabinet vote if he cannot convince the committee to change its recommendation.