The Israel Police's corruption case against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may not be as solid as investigators would have the public believe, sources at the State Attorney's Office said Wednesday.
The police announced Tuesday that they had gathered sufficient evidence to indict Netanyahu in the two corruption probes known as Case 1,000 and Case 2,000.
Case 1,000 centers on gifts Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, allegedly received from billionaire businessmen Arnon Milchan and James Packer. Case 2,000 focuses on an illicit deal Netanyahu allegedly tried to strike with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes under which Yedioth would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu stance in return for the prime minister using his influence to curtail the activities of Israel Hayom, Yedioth chief rival.
When announcing their recommendations for an indictment, the police said the evidence suggests that Netanyahu's conduct involved fraud and breach of trust (considered one offense under the Israeli penal code), as well as soliciting and accepting bribes.
Netanyahu called the police findings "biased and extreme, and riddled with holes like Swiss cheese."
Senior officials at the State Attorney's Office, however, were critical of the timing and manner in which the recommendations were made.
"We got the case on Wednesday afternoon, one day after the police made its recommendations public. What we got, what the attorney general got, was the same thing the media got," one official told Hadashot evening news.
Another official criticized what he called the "police spin" suggesting that Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit, who will have the final say on whether to indict the prime minister, was delaying progress in the case.
"We were updated on the progress in this case daily. It's 95% done, but it's not solid enough to go [to Mendelblit]. It's safe to say more investigative work will be required in this case," he said.
"We don't understand the mad dash to make these recommendations public. … Our assumption is that not everything that is alleged can be backed by evidence. They [the police] have placed the attorney general in an impossible situation. Any mitigation, as small as it may be, to the charges listed in the recommendations will be perceived as it [the case] falling apart. But there will be no shortcuts."
The State Attorney's Office refused to confirm the statements by the unnamed officials who spoke with Hadashot.
The police asserted Wednesday that the case was "rock solid."
"We're dealing with people's lives, not to mention the country. You don't mess around with these investigations," a senior police official privy to the investigation told Israel Hayom.
He added that with regard to the allegations involving Netanyahu's relationship with Milchen, "The evidence clearly indicates a give-and-take relationship."
A law enforcement official told Israel Hayom that Mendelblit was unlikely to make a decision on an indictment in the next six months, as the case will now be scrutinized by a special team at the State Attorney's Office.
The team will present its findings to State Attorney Shai Nitzan, who will review it and present his recommendations to Mendelblit.
If Mendelblit decided to press charges against Netanyahu, the evidence will be turned over to the prime minister's lawyers and any final decision will be made only after a preliminary hearing.
