Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara Netanyahu, is a suspect in the corruption case known as Case 4,000, the Israel Police said on Thursday, confirming for the first time that she was allegedly directly involved in a bribery scheme.
Case 4,000 centers on potentially illicit dealings and conflict of interest involving Israeli telecom corporation Bezeq and the Walla news website, which Bezeq owns. The police allege that Bezeq controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch ensured positive coverage by Walla for the Netanyahus, in exchange for the prime minister promoting government regulation worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the company.
Police investigator Uri Kanar told a Tel Aviv court that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife was a suspect, and that police have testimony that the Netanyahus and Elovitch were cognizant of the implications of their actions.
According to Hadashot evening news, the Netanyahus' eldest son, Yair, is also believed to be involved in the bribery scheme. All three have already been questioned as suspects in the case, but Thursday was the first time that the police said the suspicions pertaining to Sara Netanyahu center on bribery.
It was not immediately clear how Sara Netanyahu, who does not hold public office, might be charged with bribery. Her lawyers dismissed Kanar's comments and the family issued a statement saying, "We noticed that Walla News also run a flattering piece on our dog Kaya, but she had the good fortune to die before she was named a bribery suspect. The absurdity in this case knows no bounds, and in any event, Walla's coverage of Prime Minister Netanyahu was and has remained consistently negative."
The police have recommended indicting the prime minister on corruption charges in two other cases 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's chief rival.
The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the accusations as a witch hunt orchestrated by the media.
