The Likud party on Sunday accused Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the government is trying to fire, of “ulterior motives” in the probe she opened into Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky over suspicions of rape and witness tampering, after he was appointed temporary head of the Knesset’s Finance Committee.

However, several Likud lawmakers have reportedly requested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delay Milwidsky’s appointment this week as head of the committee following news of the investigation, signaling a lack of consensus within the party regarding next steps.

Milwidsky, who has faced multiple accusations in the past of sexual assault, was summoned for questioning Friday morning by the Lahav 433 major crimes unit of the Israel Police, and was reportedly surprised to be questioned about an alleged rape, rather than just an allegation of witness tampering that he already knew he was being investigated for.

On Saturday, the woman accusing Milwidsky of rape related to Channel 12 her account of what happened, and news came out of a second allegation, as MKs called for Milwidsky’s appointment as temporary head of the Knesset Finance Committee to be scrapped.

“The attorney general, who is in a clear conflict of interest, is acting like a saboteur, trying to prevent her dismissal,” Netanyahu’s Likud said in a statement, adding that “the decision to open an investigation into MK Milwidsky, one day after it was announced he would serve as Finance Committee chair, is yet another glaring example.”

According to the Ynet news site, the investigation has been ongoing for some two years, and police decided in recent weeks to move forward with questioning Milwidsky; last week, they received permission from Baharav-Miara and State Attorney Amit Eisman to question the MK, in a timing decision that, according to the police, was made due to the political developments.

Likud alleged, without evidence, that the investigation into Milwidsky was retaliation for its attempts to remove the attorney general: “Since the government announced its intention to dismiss her, the attorney general has been obstructing the government’s work in every way and initiating reckless investigations against coalition members, one after another,” the party’s statement said.

“This is a witch hunt, seeking to undermine the people’s democratic choice, with only one goal — harming the government, its members, and its function in every way possible,” it added.

A ministerial committee recommended last week that the cabinet fire Baharav-Miara due to “substantive and........

© The Times of Israel