Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet secretary Tzachi Braverman admitted shredding documents before Netanyahu left his post as prime minister, according to a recording revealed by Haaretz on Wednesday.
“Before I left, I took documents out of the safe, gave them to my deputy and told her to shred them immediately,” Braverman said in the recording. “She shredded them, and with that, it was over.”
The Likud responded by calling the report “fake news.” Netanyahu’s party said Braverman spoke about his own personal documents and copies of documents of the cabinet secretary’s office, not original documents.
The party said the documents had no connection to Netanyahu or the prime minister’s bureau and that all documents of the state are digitized.
The Movement for Quality Government has filed a lawsuit demanding that the alleged shredding be investigated. The state has responded to the court that an internal probe is already taking place.
Members of Knesset also called for an investigation.
MK Gilad Kariv (Labor), head of the Knesset Constitution Committee, wrote a letter to Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit demanding to investigate the issue.
Kariv wrote that he had already written to the AG six months ago when the issue was first reported but did not receive an adequate answer.
In his letter, he added that he also would like to hear from the AG about the protocols for change of government, after the shredding affair and the fact that the Netanyahu family did not vacate the Balfour residence on time.
He also said that he would initiate legislation to regulate the issue if necessary.
MK Gabi Lasky (Meretz) also wrote a letter to Mandelblit. She demanded that a criminal investigation against Braverman be launched immediately and that the investigation should also determine whether Netanyahu had a direct connection to the affair.