Report: Netanyahu aide gets deal
Israeli leader vows to carry on, calls charges ‘witch hunt’
JERUSALEM — One of Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest confidants has turned state witness, according to Israeli media reports Wednesday.
The testimony by Shlomo Filber is the latest in a series of developments and scandals that have engulfed the prime minister, his family and his inner circle.
Police would not confirm whether Shlomo Filber, a longtime Netanyahu aide, would testify against the Israeli prime minister, but all the major Israeli media outlets said a deal to do so had been reached.
Filber, the former director of the Communications Ministry under Netanyahu, is under arrest on suspicion of promoting regulation worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Israel’s Bezeq telecom company. In return, Bezeq’s popular news site, Walla, is alleged to have provided favorable coverage of Netanyahu and his family.
The reports came shortly after another allegation that a different Netanyahu confidant attempted to bribe a judge in exchange for dropping a corruption case against Netanyahu’s wife. Nir Hefetz, a longtime media adviser to Netanyahu and his family, remains in custody.
Filber is one of the closest people to Netanyahu, a loyal aide dating back to when Netanyahu first took office in 1996. Netanyahu’s former chief of staff Ari Harow has also signed a state witness settlement in which he agreed to testify against his former mentor.
The prime minister, who held the communications portfolio until last year, has not yet been named a suspect, though he may soon be questioned. Netanyahu has denied all the charges, calling them part of a media-orchestrated witch hunt that has swept up the police and prosecution as well, and has vowed to carry on.
Netanyahu projected business as usual on Wednesday evening.
At a gathering of Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, he spoke about Israel’s diplomatic and technological successes as well as regional developments and the threat of “Iran’s aggression.” He made no mention of his domestic woes in the speech to major American Jewish organizations.