Over the past few weeks, investigations in cases involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or his associates have been stepped up. And with this increased investigation rhythm, Netanyahu’s associates also sharpened their messages condemning the media and the police for allegedly persecuting the prime minister. These messages and continuous pressure apparently took their toll on police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh, who decided last week to publicly react.

Sadly, the brief interview that Alsheikh gave to Yedioth Ahronoth, which was published Nov. 12, played into the hands of Netanyahu and his representatives in the Likud Party.

The police commissioner gave the interview right before the Sabbath (on Friday afternoon), in his own yard, while wearing civilian clothes and sandals. In the background stood the representatives of the Police, Pensioners and Prison Guards committees, who had come to offer him their support and gave him flowers before the cameras. This was, of course, no coincidence. Alsheikh's spokespeople wanted to evince a relaxed and supportive mood. Accordingly, the commissioner's statement highlighted his determination; it was intended to show Netanyahu that he is not afraid to continue investigating him and his associates. "I'm not counting anything. I simply put up a wall. It [the investigation] was a rational decision, which will eventually have an impact on the state of mind," he said.

Alsheikh seemed to have made the necessary move, when he said in the interview that he is standing as firm as a fortress, despite all the pressure and the attacks against him. But he could have sent the same message using social networks, for example, with a short note that he himself would have written to all the citizens of Israel. His decision to grant an exclusive interview to a newspaper, whose publisher, Arnon Mozes, is himself the target of a criminal investigation — in Case 2000, in which Netanyahu is also a suspect — is problematic. Someone around Alsheikh must have known that a flattering interview, which would make the front page of Yedioth Ahronoth, is exactly the kind of trap that Netanyahu and his people expected Alsheikh to fall into.