State witness Nir Hefetz angrily storms out of a court hearing on whether to remove a gag order on details from police’s investigation of him.
“You’re spilling my blood,” Hefetz shouts at the Tel Aviv District Court judge for permitting an open hearing. “This is a scandal.”
Hefetz, a former aide to Prime Minister Netanyahu, is a key suspect in Case 4000, which involves suspicions the premier pushed regulations benefiting Bezeq controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch in exchange for positive coverage from Bezeq’s Walla news site.
At the Knesset last week, Likud Justice Minister Amir Ohana violated the gag order in a speech railing against what he was police misconduct in leaning on Hefetz to testify against Netanyahu, revealing details of alleged illegitimate pressure tactics used by investigators that had been sealed by a court.
Ohana described how investigators called in a woman who was not directly connected to Case 4000 for questioning, asked her “invasive and intrusive” questions about her relationship with Hefetz, then engineered an “accidental” meeting between the woman and Hefetz in the hallway.
Hefetz is reportedly threatening to sue Ohana and Netanyahu’s son Yair, who tweeted further details shortly after the speech.
Nir Hefetz arrives for a hearing at the Tel Aviv District on November 10, 2019. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
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