Key witness: Netanyahu ‘gestured’ that I should look into price competition

Shlomo Filber, former director general of the Communications Ministry, attends a court hearing in the trial against former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the District Court in Jerusalem on March 23, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Shlomo Filber, former director general of the Communications Ministry, attends a court hearing in the trial against former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the District Court in Jerusalem on March 23, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Shlomo Filber, a former Communications Ministry director general, testifies in the corruption trial of Benjamin Netanyahu that the former prime minister gestured that he should look into concerns by the owner of media giant Bezeq over prices in the industry.

Filber tells the court that he met with Netanyahu shortly after he become head of the ministry, amid a potential merger between media companies Bezeq and Yes.

“He said that [Bezeq owner Shaul] Elovitch came to him since Bezeq is having problems that need looking into,” Filber recalls. “[Netanyahu] told me, ‘don’t prevent competition, but see if you can moderate the prices,’ and gestured with his hand,” Filber testifies.

Filber is a key state’s witness in Case 4000, in which Netanyahu is accused of using his position to help Bezeq and Elovitch in exchange for favorable coverage in Elovitch’s Walla news site.

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