Yoav "HaTzel" Eliasi Denies Police Dismissal: "I Froze My Volunteering Myself"

Yoav "HaTzel" Eliasi addressed the scandal surrounding his status in the police in detail last night. In an interview with the program "HaTzinor," he presented his version of events, seeking to refute the claim that he was dismissed by the Police Commissioner and emphasizing that it was he who chose to freeze his volunteering.

"The Commissioner did not dismiss me. I froze the volunteering," Eliasi said unequivocally.

According to him, contrary to reports that have surfaced in recent days, the decision was not made by the police but was his own personal initiative. He also addressed the recordings that were exposed, in which he is heard boasting about his connections with police officials.

"I boasted, so what? I boasted not to show how big and strong I am, but so that they would feel that I am doing something for them," he said. He added that all business owners can contact the police officers responsible for the area, and he acted the same way: "My mistake was only in the boasting. I approached him in the vein of a question and not an order. I am still a citizen, and I am allowed to look out for my brother, who is a business owner."

Eliasi also attacked the reports surrounding the affair, asking: "What is this nonsense? Where did they bring this from?", while claiming that the things attributed to him do not reflect reality.

The storm surrounding Eliasi broke out following an investigation published last week, in which it was claimed that he boasted that his connections in the police helped an entertainment complex in which he was involved. Following the publication, the police announced the freezing of his volunteering in the standby squad, and some media outlets reported that it was a dismissal. However, as his lawyers stated previously, Eliasi reiterated that he was not dismissed at all, but chose on his own initiative to freeze his service until the end of the inquiry.