In a post to his Facebook page yesterday (Sunday), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on his investigation in the affair known as "case 2000", at the center of which is an alleged conspiracy between him and "Yediot Ahronot" publisher Arnon (Noni) Mozes in advance of the 2015 elections, Walla! News reports. According to Netanyahu, he committed no offence, did not seek to promote the "Israel Hayom bill" (which would have forced the free newspaper Israel Hayom to make a cover charge) in a deal with Mozes, and broke up the government in 2014 because of "subversion" by members of it that led to the bill being passed on first reading. Netanyahu added that media was persecuting him then and now.
"An orchestrated media campaign, unprecedented in its extent, has recently been waged to topple the Likud government headed by me," Netanyahu wrote, "This propaganda campaign is intended to bring pressure to bear on the Attorney General and others in the State Prosecutor's Office to make them file an indictment against me. The method is simple: every morning and every evening they distribute filtered transcripts, carefully selected, and deliberate lies, on the two matters that are at stake."
The suspicion being investigated in case 2000 is that the prime minister conspired with Mozes to promote the interests of them both before the 2015 elections, in a series of twelve meetings, at least two of which were recorded, as first reported by Walla! News. Netanyahu allegedly promised to promote the "Israel Hayom bill" in order to curtail the circulation of Israel Hayom, which was a threat to Yediot Ahronot, in return for favorable coverage in the latter newspaper.
In the other affair, case 1000, Netanyahu is suspected of receiving benefits in kind from businesspeople, chiefly Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan. Netanyahu wrote that there was no basis for either case, "as will become clear in time."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 16, 2017
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