Close Advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu Testifies Against Him

A close advisor to the Israeli Prime Minister has reached an agreement with the country's police to testify against Benjamin Netanyahu on the condition that he will not be prosecuted. Shlomo Filber, the director general of the Ministry of Communications and a three-time campaign manager for Netanyahu, signed the proposed agreement late Tuesday night, agreeing to testify in the case known as "Case 4000" to protect himself from any harm. This agreement turns Filber into a "state witness," as he decided not to be a "scapegoat" for the Prime Minister any longer. This development comes as Israeli police, after a year of investigations and seven interrogations of Netanyahu, recommended to the Israeli prosecutor last week to file charges against the Prime Minister in two cases named "Case 1000" and "Case 2000" for allegations of "bribery," "fraud," and "breach of trust." While Netanyahu traveled to Germany last Thursday for a speech at the Munich Security Conference, police suddenly announced that they would reopen the investigation into "Case 4000" due to apparently new evidence, arresting seven individuals in connection with it, including two senior officials from the Prime Minister's office. "Case 4000" involves providing substantial financial benefits from the state budget to Shaul Elovitch, the head of the telecommunications company Bezeq and the Walla News portal, in exchange for favorable media coverage of Netanyahu and his wife. Netanyahu held the Ministry of Communications alongside his Prime Ministership from May 2015 until mid-summer 2017, during which time Shlomo Filber was the director general of that ministry. Meanwhile, the arrest of Nir Hefetz, a media advisor to the Netanyahu family, in connection with "Case 4000" led to another negative development on Tuesday. Reports suggest that Hefetz allegedly proposed three years ago through Eli Kamir, another close advisor to the Prime Minister, to a senior prosecutor named Hila Grestel, who was a friend of Kamir, that if she closed the investigation against Sara Netanyahu, the Prime Minister's wife, regarding the misappropriation of public funds at the Prime Minister's official residence, she could become the Attorney General. Grestel confirmed on Tuesday that such a proposal had been made but she firmly rejected it at the time and later recounted the incident to her friend, Esther Hayut, without naming individuals. Grestel also testified to the police on Tuesday about this matter. Esther Hayut, who is also a senior lawyer and has been the head of the judiciary for several months, confirmed on Tuesday that Grestel had generally informed her about the incident but since she did not know the details or names of the individuals involved, she did not consider Grestel's statement significant three years ago. Israeli lawyers have told the media that currently, Grestel and Hayut are not under suspicion, but the situation for Hefetz, the main proposer of this bribe, has worsened. The increase in media speculation and the expansion of police investigations into the Prime Minister's conduct have clouded Netanyahu's status in the Israeli political scene, although leaders of coalition parties still claim that there are no formal charges against the Prime Minister and that under the law, he is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. Netanyahu emphasized in a message on social media on Tuesday night and again on Wednesday that some journalists and long-time critics are resorting to any lies to end his government's tenure, but he added that he is solely focused on political matters and advancing Israel's important national and security interests. He referred to the latest polls conducted on Tuesday night, which show that his popularity and that of the Likud party have increased in public opinion, and if elections were held today, Likud would secure 34 seats, four more than the current term. Despite Netanyahu's "confidence" that his position is not shaky because he has committed no "error," Israeli media analysts, most of whom are critics of him, claim that internal pressure from within the Likud party may at least temporarily push him out of the political scene. However, all Likud ministers, who considered themselves implicit rivals to Netanyahu, have remained silent due to the ambiguity of the accusations against him and are concerned that clearing the Prime Minister of charges could lead to Netanyahu's revenge against them and their dismissal.