Report: Netanyahus to be questioned simultaneously on Friday
Police suspect that Netanyahu acted to benefit Bezeq in return for favorable coverage.
By UDI SHAHAMUpdated: MARCH 1, 2018 01:00Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara boarding a flight to London, November 1, 2017.(photo credit: GPO PHOTO DEPARTMENT)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are expected to be questioned in parallel on Friday over the “Bezeq-Walla! affair,” otherwise known as Case 4000, according to reports on Wednesday.The two are expected to be questioned at the prime minister’s official residence in Jerusalem.This will come in contrast to police investigators’ procedure in Case 1000 (the “gifts affair”), in which the Netanyahus were questioned several days apart. Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit was criticized for this, because Sara Netanyahu could have benefited from the earlier questioning of the prime minister in preparing her responses.Police plan to present each member of the couple with the exact same evidence and to ask them about it, in order to get their responses on record, Channel 2 News said.The police said in response to a Jerusalem Post request to confirm or deny the report: “The Israel Police do not comment on ongoing investigations.”Case 4000 is a corruption investigation by police that looks into the relationship between Benjamin Netanyahu and Bezeq telecommunication company controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch, who also owns the Walla! news website.Police suspect that Netanyahu acted to benefit Bezeq in return for favorable coverage on the news site.Police also suspect that Sara Netanyahu was in touch with Elovitch’s wife, Iris, and through her acted to receive favorable coverage in Walla!.In 2015, Mrs. Netanyahu texted Iris Elovitch regarding an article that was published in Walla!, reprimanded her and asked her to change it, Channel 10 News reported on Wednesday.Sara Netanyahu was quoted as saying: “You are killing me. You are slaughtering us. You are ruining the country.”
“What kind of a website is it?” she asked. “What’s going on here? Change it. Do something with it. You are the owners of the website. Do it quick.”The Prime Minister Office responded to the report by saying: “This is yet another step in the false and one-sided leaking campaign that is intended to harm the prime minister and the Likud government, by harming and incriminating his wife.“And then they [police] claim that there are no leaks...,” the statement continued.Also on Wednesday, the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court released media adviser Eli Kamir from detention. Kamir is suspected of mediating bribes in police Case 4000, facilitating illicit dealings between a senior aide to the prime minister and a top Bezeq official.
