BICOM

What happened: Israel’s Channel 13 news has broadcast recordings of secret conversations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhau and Yediot Ahronot publisher Arnon “Noni” Mozes that form the bedrock of Case 2000, one of the corruption cases for which Netanyahu is expected to be formally indicted next month.

• Netanyahu and Mozes are heard negotiating a deal whereby the Prime Minister would pass legislation helping Mozes’ bottom line, in return for positive coverage in Yediot Ahronot, the newspaper owned by Mozes. Mozes offered to report negative stories about Netanyahu’s political rivals, while Netanyahu is heard discussing brokering a sale of Yediot to wealthy foreign associates.
• The recordings took place in late 2014, just a few months before a general election. Mozes is facing bribery charges stemming from the case, while Netanyahu is facing fraud and breach of trust charges.
• In a separate case, Israeli media reported yesterday that Netanyahu’s spokesman and a senior Likud campaign official were questioned by police on suspicion of witness harassment. The witness in question is Moshe Filber, formerly a close Netanyahu aide and key state’s witness in Case 4000. Likud called the allegations a “scandal” and slammed the police for intercepting the two officials’ mobile phones.

Context: The broadcast of the audio recordings, parts of which had previously been leaked as written transcripts, come at a sensitive political and legal moment.

• After receiving the mandate to form a government last week, the Blue and White party began coalition talks yesterday with Likud, who continued to maintain that they would not abandon their 55-seat right-wing/ultra-Orthodox bloc. Netanyahu and Gantz also met yesterday with no apparent breakthrough.
• Likud officials today continued to insist that Netanyahu had to go first in any premiership rotation arrangement and that any “incapacitation” clause – due to Netanyahu’s corruption charges – would only be triggered once his trials were underway (not as previously believed once the Attorney General formally indicted Netanayahu).
• Blue and White also met with Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu party yesterday, and are due to meet with Labour and Democratic Union officials today.​​​​​​​

Looking ahead: Gantz has until 20 November to form a government, yet it appears that Likud and its rightwing allies are holding firm to their demands. Kan News reported this morning that high-ranking legal officials have not been swayed by the arguments put forward by Netanyahu’s attorneys and are inclined to stick to their original charge sheet against the Prime Minister. There is growing speculation, too, that the Attorney General’s final decision will be announced by late November – although it is unclear whether it will come before Gantz’s mandate expires and, potentially, a third election is triggered.