The Israel Police alleged on Tuesday that a former spokesman of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to bribe a judge to drop an alleged fraud case against Netanyahu's wife, Sara.
The information implicating Nir Hefetz, still considered one of the prime minister's closest confidants, came to light as part of the police investigation into Case 4,000, which centers on potentially illicit dealings and conflict of interest involving Israeli telecom corporation Bezeq and the Walla news website.
Police believe that in 2015, Hefetz, through an intermediary, offered former judge Hila Gerstel a quid pro quo in which Netanyahu would appoint her attorney general in exchange for her closing a case in which Sara Netanyahu was alleged to have abused public funds.
Media reports said a shocked Gerstel immediately recounted the events to her colleague Esther Hayut, now Israel's chief justice.
It is unclear why Gerstel did not report the incident to the police at the time. Police sources said Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit learned of the matter only two weeks ago and ordered an immediate investigation.
Gerstel and Hayut are both expected to be questioned as witnesses in the case.
Hefetz denies any wrongdoing.
In a statement, Netanyahu called the accusations "delusional," saying he had no knowledge of any such offer.
"I never approached Nir Hefetz about this, he never proposed anything about it to me, and you know what? I do not believe he raised the possibility with anyone," Netanyahu said.
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said Tuesday that she had learned of the alleged attempt to bribe Gerstel only from the media, but "if such a conversation took place [between Hefetz and Gerstel] then it is extremely serious."
Yonatan Tadmor of the State Attorney's Office described the allegations as "extremely grave" and said they illustrated "corruption at the highest levels."
A senior police officer told Israel Hayom that "the suspicions are very serious. The information we have is solid. This was a corrupt attempt to fabricate a corrupt deal in order to corruptly take over the office in charge of law enforcement agencies in the country."
Still, senior jurists were skeptical that an offer was ever made, with one saying it was unlikely that "officials with years of experience committed what looks like a rookie mistake."
However, if true, "this might be one of the most outrageous cases in Israel's history because it allegedly involves the prime minister," the jurist said.
Police have no evidence linking Netanyahu to the suspicions against Hefetz.
At the time, the prime minister supported Mendelblit's nomination.
A former member of the Judicial Nominations Committee told Israel Hayom that "Gerstel was one of 20 candidates for the position [of attorney general] and no one, not the prime minister nor anyone on his behalf, acted to promote her nomination."
Earlier Tuesday, Meretz Chairwoman Zehava Galon asked whether Mendelblit was also compromised.
"The question is, what was promised to Mendelblit before he was tapped by Netanyahu for the position of attorney general and whether this has anything to do with the painfully sluggish way in which the investigations [against Netanyahu] are conducted," she tweeted.
Habayit Hayehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich retorted in a tweet saying, "You should be ashamed of yourself. There is no greater harm to the rule of law and the public's faith in it than casting such doubt on the integrity of the attorney general."
Mendelblit denied ever receiving an offer similar to the alleged bribe offered to Gerstel.
"The attorney general has never been nor is he now the address for bribery proposals. The mere question – and the ugly suggestion to which it alludes – is not worthy of a response," the State Attorney's Office said.
Also on Tuesday, senior Hadashot evening news commentator Amnon Abramovich, a known critic of Netanyahu, came to the prime minister's defense, saying that in this case he was being wronged.
"No one can suspect me of being overly sympathetic to the prime minister, but there is no basis for the accusations regarding the appointment of the attorney general," he said, noting that neither Gerstel nor Hayut believed at the time that the issue amounted to criminal wrongdoing.
Abramovich said he doubted that the alleged offer to Gerstel was ever made, saying he had it on good authority that the officials involved in the process of naming the attorney general were fiercely opposed to Gerstel's nomination, which contradicts reports that her candidacy was somehow promoted by Hefetz.
