The Netanyahus Charged with Bribery in Telecom Case 

Local Editor

“Israeli” police and 'Securities' Authority on Sunday recommended indicting the apartheid entity’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau and his wife, Sara, as well as media mogul Shaul Elovitch and his wife for bribery and other corruption charges in the investigation dubbed Case 4000.

This is the third case in which the police have recommended charging Netanyahu with bribery. The statement recommending charges against Netanyahu in the case were published on the last day in office for Commissioner Roni Alsheich, who is stepping down after a three-year term.

In a statement, “Israeli” police said that Netanyahu is suspected of taking bribes and of conduct involving a conflict of interest when he made decisions that benefited Elovitch, who controlled “Israel's” largest telecommunications firm, Bezeq, and the Walla News website, one of two leading “Israeli” news sites.

Case 4000 involves suspicions that Netanyahu, in his role as communications minister from 2014 to 2017 [while he was also prime minister], intervened with regulators to help Bezeq with a deal worth to Elovitch some 1 billion shekels.

Police said they found evidence that "Netanyahu and those close to him blatantly intervened, sometimes on a daily basis, in content published on the Walla news website, and sought to influence the appointment of senior employees [editors and reporters], while using their ties to Shaul and Iris Elovitch."

The police are recommending that Netanyahu is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust as well as aggravated fraudulent receiving of an item. The recommended charges against Sara Netanyahu are bribery, fraud, breach of trust and obstruction of justice.

In response, Netanyahu issued a statement saying that the recommendations to indict him and his wife "don't surprise anyone, nor does the transparent timing of the announcement." 

"These recommendations were decided on and leaked even before the investigations began. The police recommendations have no legal standing. Only recently, authorized officials totally rejected police recommendations regarding a number of public figures. I am certain that the authorized officials, after considering the matters, will reach the same conclusion in this case as well -- that there was nothing because there is nothing."

The police had already recommended charging Netanyahu with bribery and breach of trust in two other cases: Case 1000, in which he is suspected of receiving champagne, cigars and other gifts from billionaire friends, and Case 2000, in which Netanyahu is suspected of negotiating favorable press coverage with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher, Arnon Mozes. 

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team