Alleged "Galant document" forger accused of conspiracy, other crimes.
By BEN HARTMAN, YAAKOV LAPPINGalant 311(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Lt.-Col. (res.) Boaz Harpaz, suspected of forging the "Galant document," had his remand extended by five days in a Petah Tikva Magistrate's Court as part of an agreement between police and Harpaz's attorney on Tuesday. Police had requested the remand be extended by 10 days.In addition to forging the document, Harpaz is also suspected by police of attempting to illegally influence the testimony of a number of witnesses questioned in recent weeks over the affair, the police representative told the court.RELATED:Analysis: Galant – and boldBarak criticized over expedited army chief nominationHarpaz, who was arrested by detectives from the National Serious and International Crimes Unit at Ben Gurion Airport after landing on a flight from Italy on Monday, is suspected of aggravated forgery, disrupting legal procedures, and conspiracy to commit a crime, police said."He is suspected of forging [the so-called Galant] document and transferring it to the office of the IDF Chief of Staff," police said. "He is also suspected of disrupting the investigation by trying to influence the testimonies of other suspects," police added.Harpaz is a businessman active in the fields of defense sales and real estate. He is also a mid-ranking reserve IDF official.Harpaz has said he received a copy of the document and passed it on, but denied forging it. "If I knew how to write a strategic document like that, I would change professions. They're looking for a scapegoat," Harpaz told Yedioth Ahronoth last week.The document, which police now say is a forgery, was first made public by Channel 2 on August 6, and purports to show that AradCommunications, a public relations firm, drew up plans to damage the reputations of senior IDF officers in a bid to promote OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant¹s candidacy to become IDF chief of General Staff.The police investigation has so far found that the complaint by Arad Communications, which argued that the document was forged and made to
appear as it was composed by the company, is well founded. "We have exposed a chain of people who transferred the document," police saidin a statement on Thursday.
