HEAT ON NETANYAHU
Israeli police recommend country’s prime minister face bribery, breach of trust charges
JERUSALEM — Israeli police on Tuesday recommended that Benjamin Netanyahu be indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges in a pair of corruption cases, dealing an embarrassing blow to the embattled prime minister that is likely to fuel calls for him to step down.
Netanyahu angrily rejected the accusations, which included accepting nearly $300,000 in gifts from a pair of billionaires. He accused police of being on a witch hunt and vowed to remain in office and even seek re-election.
“I will continue to lead the state of Israel responsibly and loyally as long as you, the citizens of Israel, choose me to lead you,” an ashen-faced Netanyahu said in a televised address. “I am sure that the truth will come to light. And I am sure that also in the next election that will take place on time I will win your trust again, with God’s help.”
The recommendations marked a dramatic ending to a monthslong investigation into allegations that Netanyahu accepted gifts from Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer, and suspicions that he offered to give preferential treatment to a newspaper publisher in exchange for
favourable coverage.
The recommendations now go to Attorney General Avihai Mendelblit, who will review the material before deciding whether to file charges. Netanyahu can remain in office during that process, which is expected to drag on for months.
But with a cloud hanging over his head, he could soon find himself facing calls to step aside. During similar circumstances a decade ago, Netanyahu, as opposition leader, urged then-prime minister Ehud Olmert to resign during a police investigation, saying a leader “sunk up to his neck in interrogations” could not govern properly.
In the immediate aftermath of this police announcement, reactions quickly fell along partisan lines.
Former prime minister Ehud Barak, a bitter rival of Netanyahu, called on him to suspend himself and for the coalition to appoint a replacement on Wednesday morning.
“The depth of corruption is horrifying,” Barak said. “This does not look like nothing. This looks like bribery.”
But key members of Netanyahu’s Likud Party rallied behind him. Cabinet minister Miri Regev said she was “not excited” by the police recommendations and urged patience while the attorney general reviews the case. She said the biggest surprise was that Yair Lapid, leader of the opposition Yesh Atid party, had been a witness. David Amsalem, another Netanyahu confidant, called Lapid a “snitch.” Lapid also called for Netanyahu to resign
In their statement, police said there was sufficient evidence to indict Netanyahu in the first case, known as File 1000, for accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust. It said Netanyahu had accepted gifts valued at $214,000 from Milchan, and $71,000 from Packer. The gifts from Milchan reportedly included expensive cigars and champagne.
Police said that in return, Netanyahu had operated on Milchan’s behalf on U.S. visa matters, legislated a tax break and connected him with an Indian businessman. It said he also helped Milchan, an Israeli producer whose credits include “Pretty Woman,” ’’12 Years a Slave” and “JFK,” in the Israeli media market.
In the second case, known as “File 2000,” Netanyahu reportedly was recorded asking Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the Yediot Ahronot daily, for positive coverage in exchange for promoting legislation that would weaken a free newspaper that had cut into Yediot’s business.
Police said there was sufficient evidence to charge both Milchan and Mozes with bribery.
Channel 10 TV read a statement from Milchan’s “defence team,” saying the bribery charge would not stand. It said his relationship went back to the early 2000s, before Netanyahu became prime minister, and that the men and their families were friends.
There was no immediate comment from Packer or Mozes.