Likud lawmaker and coalition chairman Miki Zohar announced on Tuesday that he has formally requested that the state drop all charges in one of the criminal cases against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to new claims that one of the investigators in the case had a conflict of interest.
“This morning, I contacted the attorney general to demand that he immediately close Case 2000 and cancel the delusional indictment filed against the prime minister, and to demand the opening of a criminal investigation against all those involved in the affair made public last night by [Channel 12 journalist] Amit Segal. Our claims that Case 2000 is totally without grounds was substantiated yesterday in light of the revelations surrounding the investigation, which was carried out amid a corrupt conflict of interest.”
Netanyahu is facing criminal charges in three separate cases. Case 2000 involves allegations that he attempted to reach an illicit quid pro quo with Yediot Ahronot publisher Arnon “Noni” Mozes.
In his letter to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, which he posted on social media, Zohar wrote that “a sharp smell of corruption” emanated from the Channel 12 report, indicating “deep rot in Israeli law enforcement.”
Segal’s Channel 12 report on Monday detailed an alleged cover-up by senior police figures and the state prosecutor of a serious conflict of interest on the part of one of the investigators handling cases pertaining both to Netanyahu and to his wife, Sara. According to the report, the alleged cover-up was motivated by concern that the cases against the prime minister could suffer.