Israel police recommend indicting Netanyahu over bribery

Israeli police have recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bribery charges involving Israel's telecom giant.

Israeli police have recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bribery charges.

Israeli police have recommended indicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on bribery charges. Source: AAP

Police have established an evidentiary foundation to charge Netanyahu and his wife Sara with accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust.

The case revolves around suspicions that confidants of Netanyahu promoted regulations worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the Bezeq telecom company in exchange for positive coverage of the prime minister on Bezeq's news website, Walla.

Police have already recommended indicting Netanyahu on corruption charges in two other cases, one involving accepting gifts from billionaire friends, and the second over trading positive media coverage for advantageous legislation for a newspaper.



Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the accusations as a witch hunt orchestrated by the media.

"The police recommendations regarding me and my wife don't surprise anyone," Netanyahu said in a statement. "These recommendations were decided upon and leaked even before the investigation began."

The Bezeq case, known as Case 4000, is the most serious of all those of which Netanyahu has been accused. Two of his top confidants have turned state witnesses and are believed to have provided police with incriminating evidence.

Police say they have established an evidentiary foundation to charge Netanyahu and his wife Sara.
Police say they have established an evidentiary foundation to charge Netanyahu and his wife Sara. Source: AAP


Netanyahu held the government's communications portfolio until last year and oversaw regulation in the field. Former journalists at the Walla news site have attested to being pressured to refrain from negative reporting of Netanyahu.

Police say the investigation, which included the testimony of 60 witnesses, revealed that Netanyahu and Bezeq boss Shaul Elovitch engaged in a "bribe-based relationship."


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