Israel Police investigators have concluded there is sufficient evidence for an indictment against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Case 1,000, one of the two ongoing corruption cases in which he has been named a suspect, the Hadashot evening news reported Wednesday.
Case 1,000 centers on gifts Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are said to have received from Israeli businessman Arnon Milchan and Australian billionaire James Packer. Investigators believe the gifts totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars, which could be in violation of Israeli law.
According to the report on Wednesday, investigators at the Major Crimes Unit presented Commissioner Roni Alsheikh with the case summary report, in which they concluded that there was enough evidence to indict Netanyahu for fraud and breach of trust (which are considered one count) and bribery.
Netanyahu has also been named a suspect in another corruption case, dubbed Case 2,000. The case focuses on an illicit deal Netanyahu allegedly tried to strike with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Noni Mozes by which the newspaper would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu stance in return for the prime minister working to pass legislation that would help Yedioth financially or use his influence to curtail Israel Hayom, Yedioth's chief competitor.
According to the Hadashot report, investigators are not sure Netanyahu's conduct in Case 2,000 amounts to fraud and breach of trust, owing to the nature of the case and the different ways his actions can be interpreted. Thus, they may decide to submit the case summary report without a determination on whether there is sufficient evidence to go to trial.
The police hopes to finalize both case summary reports – which would include a determination on whether the evidence is strong enough – by Thursday and to submit them to the State Attorney's Office early next week.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu once again asserted his innocence, writing on Facebook: "Allow me to calm things down: Nothing will come out of this, because I know the truth. You don't need to be on edge. Investigators are going to submit their recommendations [the part in the case summary report on whether the evidence is strong enough to go to trial], there will also be signs of 'Bibi is guilty until proven innocent,' and people are going to try to apply undue pressure – but I am confident that when all is said and done, law enforcement authorities will reach the only possible conclusion and expose the simple truth: There is nothing."
Netanyahu added: "The State of Israel is a nation of laws, and the law stipulates that it is up to the attorney general, after consulting with the state attorney, to decide whether or not the supposed evidence warrants an indictment. In fact, the state attorney said just recently that about 50% of police recommendations end with nothing. "
Menwhile, the investigative and current affairs program "Uvda" ("Fact") aired an interview with Alsheikh on Wednesday, in which the police chief said that "powerful figures" have tried to dig up dirt on the police officers in charge of the Netanyahu cases.
Netanyahu used Facebook once again to counter this claim, writing, "Having the commissioner insinuate, again, that the prime minister supposedly sent private investigators to spy on police officers investigating him is just shocking. It is also shocking to see him repeat the ludicrous and false claim that the prime minister was somehow behind the complaint filed against the head of the 433 Major Crimes Unit Roni Ritman [who had recently announced his departure over alleged sexual harassment]. How can Ritman still head the unit that is investigating the prime minister, and still be personally engaged in drafting the recommendations? Any reasonable person has to ask whether people making such delusional remarks about the prime minister can serve as impartial investigators and issue objective recommendations.
"A big shadow has been cast on the police's investigative work and its findings regarding the prime minister," Netanyahu continued. "The insinuations made by the commissioner are so grave, they warrant an independent and immediate probe, and then, after it emerges that the commissioner's claims are unfounded, the proper conclusions must be made as to the way the police has conducted itself in investigating Netanyahu."
