Israeli Minister Referred to Prosecution Over Diplomatic Passport for PM's Son

Israeli police have forwarded to the public prosecutor the results of a nine-month investigation involving former Foreign Minister and current Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Eli Cohen. The probe concerns his involvement in granting a diplomatic passport to Yair Netanyahu, the son of the Prime Minister, during Cohen's tenure as Foreign Minister, according to Hebrew media reports.

The Hebrew newspaper Maariv reported that the investigations confirmed Cohen's involvement, alongside other senior officials, in committing the offense of "breach of trust" by issuing diplomatic passports to various individuals, including Yair Netanyahu, in exchange for "illicit benefits."

Despite evidence implicating Cohen in the alleged crimes, he stated before the investigation began: "I was asked today to provide my statements regarding the passport case. These investigations should not have been opened in the first place because the issuance of passports was conducted according to the law," he claimed.

Cohen asserted that during his period as Foreign Minister, he approved diplomatic passports for four individuals under what he described as his "special authorities."

He added that Yair Netanyahu was among these four individuals and that he granted this privilege for "security reasons," acknowledging that Yair had renewed his diplomatic passport multiple times starting from 2009.

According to the Hebrew newspaper, Cohen also authorized three Israeli mayors to receive the same diplomatic status, justifying this by their regular participation in international events and activities related to their official duties.

Contrary to Cohen's claims, the indictment approved by the public prosecutor stated that Eli Cohen, together with several senior members of his office at the Foreign Ministry, permitted the issuance of diplomatic passports for "non-objective reasons."