State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan reportedly favors indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bribery charges in Case 2,000 and Case 4,000, Channel 10 News reported Wednesday.
Case 2,000, centers on conversations Netanyahu had with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes, during which they allegedly discussed striking an illicit deal whereby Yedioth would soften its aggressive anti-Netanyahu stance in return for the prime minister using his influence to curtail Israel Hayom's activities in ways that would benefit Yedioth financially.
Case 4,000 focuses on potentially illicit dealings and conflicts 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 of Netanyahu and his family by Walla in exchange for the prime minister promoting government regulation worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Bezeq.
According to the report, the State Attorney's Office plans to make similar recommendations in a third corruption case involving the prime minister – Case 1,000 – which centers on gifts Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, allegedly received from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Australian tycoon James Packer.
Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit will have the final say whether charges are in fact filed against the prime minister.
Speaking at business conference in Tel Aviv Wednesday, Nitzan said the deliberations on the cases involving the prime minister would conclude "very soon."
"We've had very thorough discussions on the subject and the legal briefs comprise more than 800 pages," he said.
"We have spared no effort to study the circumstances of every case. The attorney general will begin his own deliberations on the matter in the next few days, and we'll discuss the complex evidentiary and legal challenges arising from these cases."
A statement by the Prime Minister's Office said, "The leaks to the media are designed to create the kind of unacceptable pressure that would generate an indictment against the prime minister at any cost."
"We are certain that once the evidence is examined independently from any of the distractions in the background, it will prove that nothing illicit transpired," the statement said.
