Israeli Opposition Leader Denies Wrongdoing in Probe of Company He Headed

The leader of the opposition and head of the largest party in Israel’s parliament, Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz, claimed innocence on Thursday in a case involving a business deal between a company he headed and the Israel Police. Gantz, a former military chief of staff, headed the cybersecurity company Fifth Dimension after leaving the army. Israel’s state prosecutor is investigating a suspicion that the police may have violated the law by purchasing software from the company without a tender. Gantz is reportedly not a suspect in the investigation. “It all sounds like political pressure to get this thing on the public’s agenda,” Gantz said on Israeli Army Radio. “I am totally at ease. This was checked in the past and no criminal suspicion was found.” He and Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, will face off in less than two weeks when the country goes to the polls in its third parliamentary election in less than a year. The campaign of Gantz’s Blue and White party has focused on the legal woes of Netanyahu, who was indicted in late January on charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud. Netanyahu’s trial is scheduled to begin just two weeks after the March 2 election.