Attorney General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit has called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a hedonist, but added that, "Bibi's not a criminal," journalist Yoav Yitzhak reports on the News1 website. Yitzhak adds that Mandelbit recently explicitly stated this opinion to several parties, and even expressed understanding and sorrow about Netanyahu's personal situation, due to the behavior of his wife, Sara, who allegedly has psychological problems.
News1 reports Mandelblit and senior figures in the State Prosecutor's Office as saying more than once that when they submit their opinions on the matter under investigation, they will be unable to avoid making reference to the situation prevailing between the Netanyahus, if only indirectly, including the prime minister's limited control over his wife's caprices and requests for gifts from friends. According to News1, very senior State Prosecutor's Office sources said in this context, "It's not a matter for an indictment, even if it stinks and is disgusting. You can't blame Netanyahu for his wife's whims."
The Israel Police is currently summarizing the case in the gifts affair (Case 1000), after the investigation has mainly been completed, except for a few loose ends. News1 reports that the investigation team is inclined to recommend indicting Netanyahu in the case, even though no evidence of gifts on a large scale was discovered. The websites also reported, however, that Mandelblit told one of his associates several weeks ago that he would not file an indictment against Netanyahu unless he was absolutely sure a conviction could be obtained.
News1 quoted sources as saying that the State Prosecutor's Office and the Attorney General's Office are coming to the conclusion - in contrast to the police's position - that the evidence found thus far does not require the filing of an indictment against Netanyahu in any of the matters under investigation.
Support from a Mileikowsky family member
News1 also reports that, under questioning, the prime minister said that he had received several thousand dollars in cash on several occasions from one of his extended family members - a cousin from the Mileikowsky family (the Netanyahu family's original name), and that this money had enabled him to pay for cigars in cash, as well as other small expenses that "did not go through Sara." In his testimony to the police, Netanyahu said that not all the cigars he smoked had come from tycoon Arnon Milchan. The person in question is Netanyahu's cousin on the side of his father, Benzion Netanyahu, whose own father's name was Nathan Mileikowsky. News1 states that accepting gifts from a family member is permitted by law. Sources told News1 that the same cousin gave cash gifts to Benzion Netanyahu for many years to support his work as a historian.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on February 13, 2017
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