The Prime Minister’s Office’s chief of staff, Natan Eshel, arrived Tuesday
morning at the Civil Service Commission’s Investigations Branch for questioning
over the alleged harassment of a female staffer in his office.
Eshel, who
began his tenure at the Prime Minister’s Office in December 2010, extended his
leave from office on Monday after legal advisers told him to do so pending a
probe into complaints against him.
Three senior staffers brought the case
to the attorney-general’s office last month, but not the alleged victim of
abuse, who has declined to cooperate with the investigations in order to
maintain privacy.
The Civil Service Commission is carrying out the
investigation after Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein decided not to refer the
case to police.
The Prime Minister’s Office has said Eshel’s alleged
harassment was not sexual in nature, though Channel 1 news reported the chief of
staff took pictures of the female staffer, known only as “R.,” from under her
skirt.