Liberman accused of trying to have officer assassinated, files criminal complaint

Finance minister files police complaint, blames Netanyahu for the accusations.

By World Israel News Staff

A former activist from the Yisrael Beytenu party recently accused party chairman and finance minister Avidgor Liberman of plotting the assassination of a senior police official, prompting the minister to file a formal police complaint.

Last Thursday, businessman Yosef Kamisa, a former activist in Yisrael Beytenu who claims to have served as a senior advisor to Liberman in the early 2000s, issued a lengthy statement via Twitter before appearing on Israel’s Channel 13, detailing alleged behavior by Liberman two decades years ago.

Kamisa alleged that 20 years ago, Liberman sought the assassination of a police official, offering Kamisa $100,000 to arrange the hit.

The former party activist also accused Liberman of being a partner in a casino in the Palestinian Authority-administered city of Jericho, adding that some of the casino’s earnings were used to fund terrorist groups.

“Who are you, Mr. Liberman?” Kamisa wrote. “As your former aide, let’s talk a bit about you who are, okay? I wrote about you in a post two years ago, and I called you the head of a criminal organization; you were too afraid to respond or to file a libel suit.”

Addressing Israel’s attorney general, Kamisa posted: “I invite you, madam, to call me and Liberman in for a polygraph, with one question asked: ‘Did Liberman offer me $100,000 to murder a police superintendent?’”

“If Mr. Liberman is ready, then we’ll ask a few more questions: Was Liberman a partner in a casino in Jericho? Did some of the profits from this casino go to terrorist groups which murder Jews?”

Liberman denied Kamisa’s claims last week, and on Sunday, he blamed Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu for the accusations, calling the Likud chief “scum.”

“This is about Netanyahu’s methods, this is not the first time – the man is simply the scum of the human race who has no red lines,” Liberman said.

Attorneys for the finance minister filed a police complaint against Kamisa Monday morning, dismissing his claims as fanciful, slanderous, and “completely false.”

“Liberman did not approach the defendant and offer him any amount to murder a certain person. This is a figment of the defendant’s feverish imagination,” the complaint reads in part.

The accusations, the complaint continues, “are slanderous, completely false, and were published with the intention of harming the complainants when the political system is in the midst of an election campaign.”

Avigdor LibermanBenjamin NetanyahuIsrael PoliceIsraeli politicsSlanderYisrael Beytenu