Knesset panel to investigate 'Prisoner X' incident

While Knesset announces that intensive examination to be launched, MKs call for State Comptroller, government inquiry.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Ben Zygier passport 370 (photo credit: ABC News)
Ben Zygier passport 370
(photo credit: ABC News)
A group of MKs will investigate the “Prisoner X” case, the Knesset announced on Sunday night.
The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Subcommittee for Intelligence plans to hold an “intensive examination” of the circumstances surrounding the prison suicide of Ben Zygier, an alleged Australian Mossad agent.
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Meanwhile, a number of MKs called for the state comptroller or a government inquiry commission to probe the events.MK Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi), the chairman of the control committee in the last five months of the 18th Knesset, requested that the temporary Knesset House Committee reinstate the panel and put him at its head, in order to discuss the incident and vote to form a government inquiry commission.
In letters to temporary Knesset Speaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) and interim Knesset House Committee chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud Beytenu), Ariel explained that “a temporary chairman for the control committee must be appointed in light of the difficult findings in this case.”
“There was a slip-up here,” Ariel told Army Radio. “We don’t understand what happened here; therefore the Knesset needs to have its say and form an inquiry commission.”
MK Nachman Shai (Labor) called for State Comptroller Joseph Shapira to investigate the “Prisoner X” case.
“We are witnessing failures in many aspects of this incident: Intelligence, legal, public, media and parliament,” Shai stated.
The Labor MK warned that the Australian government will soon publicize further information on the case and Israel will be “an empty vessel” facing international public opinion.
“Time is a crucial factor, and I demand that the state comptroller limit the time of the investigation and commit to publicizing his findings for the public to see as soon as possible,” Shai said.