Pressure mounts for Netanyahu as former aide agrees to testify

JERUSALEM >> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is known for being a political survivor, but the revelation this week that a former top aide will testify against him has led to speculation that his indictment in relation to allegations of corruption is increasingly inevitable.

Avi Harow, who served as Netanyahu’s chief-of-staff, will turn state’s witness in two probes into the premier, Israeli police said on Friday. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The details of the investigations — from the Cuban cigars and other lavish gifts Netanyahu is alleged to have received from prominent businessmen to allegations of collusion with Israel’s dominant newspaper for favorable press coverage — have gripped Israel in recent months. Harow’s agreement to testify though, significantly ramps up pressure on the premier, now serving his fourth term.

The agreement “has one virtually irreversible implication: an indictment against Netanyahu is coming,” an analysis in Israel’s daily Haaretz said on Saturday.

Harow served as Netanyahu’s bureau chief for two years beginning in 2008, returning in 2015 as his chiefof-staff. According to Israeli media reports, it was Harow who recorded conversations between Netanyahu and Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the daily Yedioth Ahronoth, negotiating coverage.

In exchange for giving evidence U.S.-born Harow will avoid jail time in a separate case of fraud and breach of trust. Instead he will do community service and pay a 700,000 shekel ($190,000) fine, according to the police statement.

While his evidence is likely to strengthen the cases against the prime minister, just how damning Harow’s testimony will be is unclear. A gag order has been imposed on the information Harow provided under interrogation.

Netanyahu’s office has dismissed the allegations against him as politically motivated.