BICOM

Israel’s Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, has said his investigation into the Prime Minister’s alleged corruption involving telecommunication company Bezeq is “almost finished”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is being investigated for corruption offences allegedly committed when he oversaw Bezeq’s controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch receive benefits from the Government in return for favourable news coverage of the Prime Minister on the Walla news website, known as “Case 4,000”. Shlomo Filber, an advisor to Netanyahu, served as Director-General of the Communications Ministry and is alleged to have made policy decisions to benefit Bezeq in return for the favourable media coverage. Filber has signed a plea agreement to act as a state witness in the case.

Speaking to students at Bar Ilan University on Monday, the Attorney-General said the case was his “top priority” and that a decision over filing indictments in the case “will be made as quickly as possible, without sacrificing our professionalism”.

On Sunday, Channel 10 News reported that Economic Crimes Division Director Liat Ben-Ari’s believes there is sufficient evidence to charge Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in connection to all three cases involving the Prime Minister — Cases 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000. Case 1,000 alleges that Netanyahu received $280,000 worth of luxury gifts from a number of wealthy benefactors in exchange for favourable government policies and action; Case 2,000 centres on an alleged arrangement with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes to limit circulation of the newspaper’s main rival in exchange for more favourable media coverage.

Ben-Ari’s recommendation must first be approved by State Attorney Shai Nitzan and then by Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit. Nitzan and Mandelblit are likely to announce a final decision about Netanyahu’s cases in the first quarter of 2019.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied the allegations in all cases, saying he is confident that the Attorney-General will find nothing because “there is nothing”. Israeli analysts believe that Ben-Ari’s recommendation increases the likelihood that the State Attorney’s Office will indict the Prime Minister.