Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had dinner last week with Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who is a state’s witness against him in his corruption cases, Channel 13 reported on Sunday.
According to the report, Netanyahu and Ellison were seen eating together at Nobu Lanai, a very expensive restaurant on the Hawaiian island of Lanai, where the Netanyahu family has been vacationing at the Four Seasons Hotel, one of the most expensive hotels in the world.
The Likud responded that the witness list includes hundreds of people, including MKs and his own staff, and there is no prohibition to speak to them.
Netanyahu himself has not reacted to Friday’s meeting of his successor, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, with US President Joe Biden, following the tradition that the opposition does not criticize a prime minister when he is abroad.
But his Likud party, MKs close to him, and his son Yair have all fiercely criticized Bennett.
“For a picture at the White House, Bennett completely folded,” the Likud said in a statement retweeted by Netanyahu. “He harmed the security of the State of Israel when he promised not to publicly fight against Iran’s return to the nuclear deal. This is a dangerous decision that combines ineptitude, irresponsibility and bad leadership.”
Likud MK Ofir Akunis called it “humiliating” and “a complete failure” that Biden gave Bennett less than half an hour of his time.
Yair Netanyahu repeatedly retweeted pictures and reports that indicated incorrectly that Biden had fallen asleep during the meeting. He posted pictures of his father being received at the White House for the Abraham Accords, and said “this is how a real leader is received. Bennett the charlatan, I am happy you received an inconsequential selfie with Biden. It cost the public millions and resulted in not reacting to the shooting of an IDF soldier on the Gaza border.”