Corruption watchdog seeks antitrust probe of Netanyahu
Movement for Quality Government says suspected bid by PM and media magnate to hobble a newspaper raises red flag
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
An Israeli corruption watchdog on Wednesday petitioned the High Court of Justice to order a probe into whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the publisher of Israel’s most widely circulated paid newspaper broke antitrust laws.
Police launched an investigation, dubbed Case 2000, after uncovering audio recordings from 2014 that suggested that Netanyahu had promised Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon (Noni) Mozes that he would hamstring the rival free Israel Hayom newspaper in return for Yedioth guaranteeing him more favorable coverage.
In its petition against the prime minister, Antitrust Authority Commissioner Michal Halperin and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel also asked the court for an injunction to prevent charges being brought in the case until a decision on ordering an antitrust probe had been made, the business daily The Marker reported.
“The Antitrust Authority is responsible for ensuring competition in the economy, but was not involved in the [Case 2000] investigation, in spite of public criticism and even though police had cooperated with the Antitrust Authority in the past,” the petition said.
The publication of partial transcripts from the recorded conversations was sufficient to raise suspicions of attempted restrictive practices, conspiracy to commit a crime, and additional crimes connected with harming competition, the petitioners said.
It cited the “lofty public positions of those involved in Case 2000, and the huge damage that publication of the contents of the contacts caused to public trust in the democratic system and the motives of those involved.”
In a separate probe, dubbed Case 1000, Netanyahu is being investigated for accepting gifts worth hundreds of thousands of shekels from wealthy businessmen.
Police are also considering investigating the prime minister in connection with suspicions that his personal lawyer David Shimron swayed multi-billion-shekel deals in favor of German shipbuilding company ThyssenKrupp, which he represented in Israel. That case has been dubbed Case 3000.
There are no publicly available details about a fourth affair reportedly involving the prime minister, known as Case 4000.
Netanyahu has consistently maintained his innocence and ascribed the investigations to attempts to force him out of his position.
The Times of Israel Community.