Netanyahu corruption cases head to attorney general’s desk

State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan says he has finished work on the three criminal cases against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has transferred the case material to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who will decide whether to indict the premier.

Speaking at the Globes financial conference in Tel Aviv, Nitzan says that “in the coming days discussions will begin in the attorney general’s office in order to come to a final decision” on Cases 1000, 2000 and 4000.

“We have made and will continue to make every effort to finish the work as soon as possible,” he adds.

In Case 1000, Netanyahu is suspected of receiving benefits worth about NIS 1 million ($282,000) from billionaire benefactors, including Israeli Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, in exchange for assistance on various issues.

Case 2000 involves a suspected illicit quid pro quo deal between Netanyahu and Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes that would have seen the prime minister hobble a rival daily newspaper, the Sheldon Adelson-backed freebie Israel Hayom, in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth.

In Case 4000 Netanyahu is suspected of advancing regulatory decisions as communications minister and prime minister that benefited Shaul Elovitch, the controlling shareholder in Bezeq, the country’s largest telecommunications firm, in exchange for positive coverage from Elovitch’s Walla news site.

— Raoul Wootliff