The High Court Justice “implored” the opposing sides in the petitions over the investigation into the Sde Teiman video leak affair to come to a compromise agreement over who will oversee the criminal probe into the scandal, following a lengthy court hearing on Tuesday.

The court had sought a compromise by 5 p.m., but said it would wait into the evening for the sides to reach an agreement after the deadline passed.

Speaking to the attorneys for the parties to the petition, Justice Yael Willner said one option for compromise was for the opposing sides to empower the court to appoint either a serving or retired district court judge, or a retired Supreme Court judge, to oversee the investigation.

Another option Wilner said was to empower the Israel Securities Authority or the Israel Competition Authority to conduct the investigation.

Willner’s appeal for a compromise on these lines essentially confirmed that the court will not approve Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s appointment of State Ombudsman for Judges Asher Kula to oversee the investigation, but equally will not approve the attorney general’s position that the state attorney will take up the task.

“We implore you from the public’s perspective to reach an agreement,” said Willner, in reference to how politically and societally charged the Sde Teiman leak affair has become.

“Deliberate on it until white smoke comes out. We will wait for you here until five o’clock, until six o’clock, seven o’clock and even later. Just reach an agreement.”

During the course of the hearing, the judges found legal problems with the actions of all parties in the fight over who will have ultimate authority over the criminal investigation.

The judges strongly challenged Levin’s intervention in the investigative process by unilaterally appointing Kula to head the investigation, while also sharply questioning the authority under which he took this........

© The Times of Israel