'New development in Galant case'

Police to court: Channel 2 document no longer essential to probe.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JPOST.COM STAFF
Galant 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Galant 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
A significant development occurred in the "Galant document" police investigation on Sunday, a police representative said during a Petah Tikva District Court session on Sunday.
During the court session, the police representative said that the National Serious and International Crimes Unit no longer felt it was essential to receive the document at this time, due to a breakthrough in the investigation.
RELATED:Opinion: The plot thickens in the Galant episodeChannel 2 alters Galant document to protect source'Police to question Ashkenazi'Police were still interested in receiving the document "in order to complete the investigation," the representative added.
The court session was held to discuss an appeal by Channel 2 news against a previous court decision, which ordered the media outlet to hand the document over to police for forensic analysis.
Investigators now believe that the document and the strategic communications plan it detailed are authentic and not forgeries, Army Radio reported.
Despite the new development in the case, senior IDF officers will still continue to be called to give their testimonies to police in the coming days as part of the investigation, as a former senior police investigator told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday.
The police reportedly plan to call IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi to testify in connection to the "Galant Document" on Sunday.
Channel 2 News reported on Sunday that police plan to ask Ashkenazi if he knew about the document before it was leaked to the media. IDF spokesman Brig.-Gen. Avi Benayahu was reportedly asked the same question on Friday.
Other questions will deal with the connections between senior IDF officers and public relations offices, and the relations between the officers in the running to replace Ashkenazi, according to Channel 2. The police will reportedly also ask about possible motives for forging and leaking the document.