JERUSALEM – One of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closestconfidants has agreed to testify against him in a graft probe, Israelimedia reported Wednesday, in a fresh threat to his long tenure.
Two new corruption investigations announced this week, hot on the heels ofa police recommendation that Netanyahu face charges in two other cases,have fuelled growing speculation he could be forced to step down or call anearly election.
Shlomo Filber, a Netanyahu ally for more than 20 years and former directorgeneral of the communications ministry, is expected to agree to turn statewitness in exchange for avoiding jail, according to reports across theIsraeli press.
Police did not confirm any deal.
Filber was arrested on Sunday in connection with allegations that ShaulElovitch, the controlling shareholder of Israeli telecommunications giantBezeq, gave Netanyahu positive coverage on his Walla! news site in exchangefor policies benefiting the business.
Filber is suspected of mediating between Netanyahu and Elovitch andpromoting regulatory changes worth millions to Bezeq.
Two senior Bezeq employees also detained on Sunday, CEO Stella Handler andAmikam Shorer, appeared Wednesday in court, where their remand was extendeduntil February 26.
The prime minister himself has not been named as a suspect in theinvestigation.
In another case announced this week, two Netanyahu allies are alleged tohave offered a judge promotion in exchange for dropping a case against thepremier’s wife.
The two men have been identified as Nir Hefetz and Eli Kamir, both formermedia advisers for the Netanyahu family.
Their alleged offer was to Hila Gerstel, a judge involved in a graft probeinto Sara Netanyahu over alleged misuse of public funds.
Additionally last week police said there were grounds to indict the primeminister himself in two other cases for bribery, fraud and breach of publictrust.
Netanyahu, 68, has rejected all the allegations, and released a new videoon his Facebook page late Tuesday strongly denying any wrongdoing.
In an address to American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem late on Wednesday, anupbeat Netanyahu ignored his legal woes, expounding instead on Israel’ssuccess in diplomacy and technology while reiterating his position on thedanger Iran posed to the Jewish state.
“We will never allow Iran to establish military bases in Syria to useagainst us (and) we will never allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons,” hesaid.
While Netanyahu’s coalition partners have so far said they will stand byhim, they have remained largely silent since Sunday.
His right-wing Likud party, the largest in parliament, still remainssupportive, but the opposition has repeatedly called for him to step aside.
Polls last week showed the Israeli public was split on the prime minister’sfuture.
– ‘End of an era’ –
“If Shlomo (Momo) Filber indeed signed a state’s witness agreement lastnight, it is the end of an era,” Ben Caspit wrote in the Maariv newspaperWednesday, calling him Netanyahu’s “closest and most intimate covertoperations officer”.
“Always in the shadows, always loyal, efficient, secretive and ideological,Bibi (Netanyahu) knew that he could count on Momo. Until yesterday,” saidCaspit, the author of a recent book on the prime minister.
In his Facebook video Tuesday night, Netanyahu again accused the media andpolice of a witch-hunt.
Quoting a biblical phrase referring to the ancient Egyptians’ treatment ofthe Jews, he said “the more they were oppressed, the more they multipliedand spread.”
Filber is seen as one of the architects of Netanyahu’s surprise 2015election victory, after which he was appointed to head the communicationsministry.
The next election is not due until the end of 2019 but Israeli mediaspeculated Netanyahu might call go the polls before the end of this year.
Under the headline “The smell of elections”, the pro-Netanyahu newspaperIsrael Hayom published a poll suggesting he might even increase his supportin parliament despite the allegations hanging over him.
His Likud party currently holds 30 seats in the 120-seat parliament, butthat could rise to 34 if an election were called today, according to thepoll. – APP/AFP