Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he asked Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein to investigate the leak of an document allegedly pertaining to the selection of a new Israel Defense Forces chief of staff.
Netanyahu told the ministers at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting that in "light of the publications, I consulted with the defense minister who is charge of the IDF, after which I spoke to the Attorney General and asked him to examine the subject as soon as possible."
According to a document aired on Channel 2 television on Friday, GOC Southern Command Major General Yoav Galant hired leading Israeli PR consultant Eyal Arad''s firm to spearhead a campaign to help him in his bid to replace Ashkenazi, while taking several subversive steps against one of his competitors.
Also Sunday, Israel Defense Forces Chief Gabi Ashkenazi responded for the first time to the leak of an alleged document proving that one of the candidates for replacing him hired a PR consultant, saying that the affair was "severe and demands inquiry and clarification."
"Ashkenazi is sorry that the important procedure of appointing an IDF chief has been infiltrated by topics and actions that could seriously harm the IDF and the publics'' trust of it," a statement released by the IDF spokesperson''s office said.
Ashkenazi said in the statement that the IDF would fully cooperate "with any decision regarding an investigation," and added that he "hopes the truth will be revealed as soon as possible, so that the suspicions won''t leave a mark on candidates, officers and citizens."
On Sunday morning, Arad filed a police complaint stating that the a document allegedly proving he was hired as a consultant to help promote one of the candidates for the new Israel Defense Forces chief is a fake.
"That document was not written by me, or by anyone of my business partners or associates," Arad told Israel Radio after filing the complaint. "If I had written the note and then also turned to the police, then I have exposed my self to criminal prosecution. Do you think a rational person would endanger himself with imprisonment in order to get rid of a problem relating to one''s image?"
Galant would have to drop out of the race for chief of staff if the document aired by Channel 2 news supporting this assertion is genuine, and Arad''s firm did plan to cause a rift between Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Ashkenazi.
Arad denied on Saturday that he or anyone at his firm wrote the document. He also denied that he or any of his people were connected to the race for chief of staff.
Arad has invited the authorities to check the computers in his office to show that he has no connection to the document.
"I did meet Yoav during the period he was in [Ariel] Sharon''s office," Arad told Haaretz on Saturday. "But I have not met him since then and have spoken to him only a few times over the phone."
People who have spoken with Galant say he is shocked at what he describes as a crude fabrication against him and that he has no connection to Arad.
The document cites the need to develop an "insult effect" against Ashkenazi following the announcement of the round of interviews with candidates for chief of staff. The document also cites the need to sharpen disagreements between Ashkenazi and Galant over Operation Cast Lead - the Gaza offensive in the winter of 2008-09.