Amid probe, PM admits to as many as five daily calls with Israel Hayom editors

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with editors of the right-leaning Israel Hayom newspaper as many as five times daily during the run-up to the March 2015 election, according to information provided by the Prime Minister’s Office following a freedom of information appeal.

According to the information, provided to Channel 10’s investigative report Raviv Drucker after a lengthy court process, Netanyahu’s calls to former editor Amos Regev and the newspaper’s publisher, American Jewish casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, often took place late at night, shortly before the closing of the next day’s edition.

If Netanyahu directly coordinated campaign publicity with the newspaper, then the many millions of shekels Adelson spent on the newspaper may count as illegal campaign financing, critics say.

Netanyahu confidant MK David Bitan responds Sunday to the Channel 10 report by filing his own Freedom of Information Act request to the Prime Minister’s Office demanding the release of similar information about phone calls to newspaper editors by former premiers Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon.

According to data already released by the PMO, Netanyahu spoke with ex-editor Regev 235 times in three years and with Adelson 120 times in the same period.