Netanyahu decries ‘industry of state witnesses’ after 3rd aide turns

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a response to the growing number of associates who have turned state’s witness against him in the various corruption investigations he is facing.

“When there is something real, you don’t need a single state’s witness, and when you have nothing, not even a thousand state witnesses will help,” Netanyahu says in a video uploaded to social media.

He says it’s “hard to believe” that in 2018 Israel, an “industry of state witnesses” exists. He claims witnesses are often pressured by police into giving false testimony.

“This obsessive pursuit after one state’s witness, then another and another just proves there’s nothing here,” he says.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu’s former media adviser Nir Hefetz turned state’s witness in the Bezeq corruption case. Hefetz is suspected of receiving bribes and obstructing justice in the quickly ballooning investigation dubbed Case 4000.

Hefetz is the third Netanyahu confidant to turn state’s witness in the investigations, potentially incriminating the prime minister in his testimony.