...and tells police: Yair Netanyahu has been hurting Israeli security
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made decisions that harmed the security of Israel because he took the advice of his eldest son, Yair, over that of security authorities, his former spokesman Nir Hefetz told police, according to reports on Monday.
Hefetz, who has turned state’s witness, told the police that on more than one occasion, the younger Netanyahu’s influence led to harmful security decisions being made.
Due to the timing of when Hefetz served as a personal spokesman for the Netanyahu family, one incident he possibly was referring to was a controversial decision to install metal detectors at the entrances to mosques on the Temple Mount, which sparked violence. The decision was strongly opposed by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) but was supported by Israel Police Insp.Gen. Roni Alsheikh.
According to one report, Netanyahu’s decision to threaten elections over the issue of public broadcasting also was due to the influence of his son.
Yair Netanyahu will soon be questioned in Case 4000, the “Bezeq Affair,” Channel 2 News reported.
In response to Monday night’s news, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement saying: “The
faction at the Knesset that Netanyahu and his closest advisers also have called him repeatedly, taking an active role in resolving the dispute. He said he told them the 2019 state budget must pass immediately or he will leave his job.
“I don’t see how I could continue to function as finance minister if the budget doesn’t pass,” Kahlon said. “Will I tell the elderly and the handicapped I don’t have their money due to the Haredi conscription law? It was a mistake to connect the draft bill to the budget. There is no reason to go to elections when the government is functioning well. Whoever wants to drag us to early elections harms our economy.”
UTJ MKs Moshe Gafni and Uri Maklev both said on Monday that compromises were being worked on, and they still believed elections could be averted. But Liberman told The Jerusalem Post he had not heard about such compromises, and his associates later said he was convinced there was no solution to the crisis and elections are inevitable.
Former Likud minister Gideon Sa’ar, who will be speaking at The Jerusalem Post Conference on April 29 in New York City, said while the Haredi conscription issue is complex, he wishes Netanyahu well in solving it.
Lahav Harkov contributed to this report. •