Israel to swap national police chief amid Netanyahu probes

JERUSALEM – Israel’s public security minister says he will replace the country’s police chief at the end of his term, which is set to expire this year. The change comes in the midst of police investigations into corruption by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gilad Erdan announced possible replacements for Roni Alsheikh as national police chief on Thursday. He cited “differences of opinion” with Alsheikh as a reason for not extending his term an additional year.

It wasn’t clear how, if at all, Alsheikh’s departure might affect investigations of Netanyahu.

Alsheikh has overseen probes into suspected wrongdoing by the prime minister during his three-year term. Israeli police have already recommended indicting Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in two separate cases. Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing, calling the investigations a “witch hunt.”