By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMANGalant(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Petah Tikva District Court was expected to decide on Wednesday whether Channel 2 will have to hand over the so-called Galant document, which allegedly advised OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant to besmirch his rivals in the race to be the next army chief.The Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court ruled on Monday night that Channel 2 had to hand over the document to police. Another court rejected Channel 2’s appeal on Tuesday, saying that the law enabled media outlets to protect their sources but not the information itself.RELATED:Galant document to be probed promptly"Smear campaign" allegedly forgedChannel 2’s attorneys have called on the district court to cancel the ruling, saying it violates journalistic immunity.If Channel 2 gives the document to police, they will take it to a laboratory to test its authenticity. The document bears the logo of strategist Eyal Arad’s consulting firm, but he and Galant have insisted that it was forged.Police are expected to question rivals of Arad, in an effort to determine whether the document was forged in order to harm his firm.If this is found to be the case, it would mean that the document was not connected to Galant or another IDF officer, and therefore the process of selecting a new chief of General Staff to replace Lt.- Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi in February could continue.Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein ordered Defense Minister Ehud Barak not to make a decision on the appointment until the investigation into the document had been completed.In her first public comments about the scandal, Kadima leader Tzipi Livni praised Arad, who is her party’s strategist, for initiating the investigation by filing a forgery complaint with the police on Sunday.Arad’s partner, Lior Chorev, and other members of his staff are expected to be questioned, as is IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Avi Benayahu, who is close to Ashkenazi and has sparred with Barak.
National police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld refused to confirm reports that two people from Arad’s office are suspected of leaking the document.“All that we can say is that the investigation is continuing and that it will be completed as quickly as possible,” Rosenfeld said.
