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What happened: Israel’s Acting State Prosecutor Dan Eldad has ordered the police to launch a fraud investigation into Fifth Dimension, a cybersecurity firm previously chaired by Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, relating to a NIS 4 million contract with the Israeli Police. Gantz was chairman of Fifth Dimension’s board of directors after retiring from his position as chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces. Fifth Dimension closed in December 2018.

• Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit made clear yesterday in a statement that Gantz is not a suspect in the investigation.
• Fifth Dimension are alleged to have won a contract in 2016 with the Israel Police for an experimental artificial intelligence cybersecurity system. Allegations of wrongdoing are related to the firm obtaining the contract without a public tender, as well as Fifth Dimension falsifying its data and internal accounting. The Israel Police will also be investigated as part of the probe.
• A future NIS 50 million contract was stopped before the project moved forward and Fifth Dimension declared bankruptcy in 2018.
• Judicial authorities speaking anonymously criticised the timing of the announcement so close to the 2 March election as politically motivated, describing Eldad as a “trojan horse” sent into the Israeli legal system by Justice Minister Amir Ohana, a close confidante of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Context: The announcement of a police investigation has dominated media coverage over the last two days and comes just over a week before Israelis vote on 2 March.

• Gantz has denied any wrongdoing and said he welcomed the investigation, but also said it was only materialising due to “political pressure.”
• Netanyahu, who has been indicted for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, said in relation to the Fifth Dimension investigation that: “The public must know the truth here and now.” Netanyahu’s criminal trial is due to start on 17 March.
• Opinion polls published yesterday did not show any movement between the two main blocs of parties, Gantz’s Blue and White party are predicted to win a slim lead over Netanyahu’s Likud. Yesterday, Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman – believed to be the swing vote in any future coalition formation – said that Netanyahu “can no longer be prime minister, he has come to the end of his road.”
• Netanyahu yesterday toured Jerusalem and announced the approval of plans to build 7000 new housing units in East Jerusalem, including in Har Homa and the Givat Hamatos neighbourhood. The Arab neighbourhood of Beit Safafa will also see 1000 new housing units built, although actual construction in all these areas is unlikely to move forward until long after election day.

Looking ahead: Many political analysts drew parallels between the investigation into Gantz and Fifth Dimension and the decision by then FBI Director Robert Mueller to launch an investigation into Hillary Clinton days before the 2016 US Presidential Election. It is unclear what impact, if any, the allegations will have on Gantz’s candidacy, with many Israeli voters seemingly already decided on their vote. The investigation has however dominated the media agenda pushing other issues – ceasefire talks with Hamas in Gaza, Netanyahu’s criminal trial – away from the spotlight.