During their recent questioning of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the gifts and favors case, the police confronted him with new evidence in the case accumulated over their months of investigation. An Israel Television News Company broadcast mentioned evidence given by Hadas Klein, billionaire Arnon Milchan's personal assistant. Klein is an important witness in the case concerning the gifts given to the Netanyahu family. The investigators rate her evidence as highly reliable, although she herself is not a suspect in the affair.
Klein told the police about the numbers of champagne bottles supplied at the request of Sara Netanyahu, and described the hostile response she got when she refused to authorize Milchan's consultant to help repair a leak in the Netanyahu's home. Klein said that words were used like "supply," "costs," and "quantities" that do not correspond to a relationship of gifts between friends. At the same time, she mentioned no payment whatsoever received by Milchan for what he supplied, which is making it difficult for the investigators to establish a give and take relationship in the affair.
Describing how gifts were delivered to the Prime Minister's official residence, Klein said, "Sara asked for bottles in cases of six or 12 bottles of champagne to a case. Bibi asked for cigars, and also knows about the quantities of champagne that his wife had received. The company driver made a special trip to Jerusalem to supply the cigars and champagne."
Klein also gave the investigators examples of other extraordinary requests, including one by Sara Netanyahu to repair a leak in the prime minister's home. "There was a tough conversation," Klein recalled. "Sara shouted at me. She wanted the building inspector who worked with Packer and Milchan to give professional parties in the Prime Minister's Office advice about the leak in the building. I didn't approve it, so she shouted that I and Milchan were humiliating her and Bibi by not approving things that were supposedly permissible."
Klein also said, "After several hours, Bibi himself called, said that what they (Packer and Milchan) were doing to the lady wasn't right, and that they had to realize what she was going through in the media, and that they had checked with the legal advisor, and it was all permissible."
Klein also commented on the complicated character of the prime minister's wife, saying that Sara was afraid of wiretapping. Klein said, "Every time she asked for something, she wanted to speak only on a landline or in a face-to-face meeting. She shouted at me several times about gifts."
A representative of the prime minister said in response, "The plague of false reports is continuing. What is being attributed to the prime minister and his wife is untrue. The prime minister and his wife acted legally, so nothing will come of this. Furthermore, we do not intend to comment on the particulars of the investigation that refute the false report."
Klein's media consultant refused to confirm or deny the report, because the investigation is still going on.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on November 14, 2017
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