Netanyahu hints timing of reports on grave defacement meant to hurt him

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu questioned the timing of reports on vandalism targeting the gravestone of the father of Attorney General Avichai Mandeblit, hinting that it was linked to what he has claimed is a media and law enforcement witch-hunt.

Israel’s Channel 10 and Hadashot TV news reported Thursday that the gravestone of Baruch Mandelblit, who died in 2003, had been smashed with a hammer, sparking condemnation from Israeli leaders and calls for a swift probe by police.

Though the vandalism was discovered 10 days ago, the reports only came out Thursday, hours after the pro-Netanyahu Israel Hayom daily published a warning — in comments attributed to Netanyahu — against the attorney general, who is due to decide whether to indict the prime minister in three corruption cases. The prime minister has denied making the remarks.

Responding to a reporter’s question about the vandalism late Thursday as he took off for Brazil, Netanyahu hinted that the timing of the report was politically motivated.

Netanyahu said he had only heard about the vandalism that day, and had immediately called Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan to make sure the police would investigate, when he was told it was already being probed and had been discovered 10 days earlier.

“What interests me is the timing of the report tonight, after the defamatory headlines attributed to me,” he said.

Netanyahu and his supporters have regularly accused the media of being in cahoots with police in trying to oust him from power.

Following the TV reports Thursday, Netanyahu had quickly spoken out against the vandalism as “a shocking act that should be unequivocally condemned.”

Others in Netanyahu’s governing coalition also condemned the incident.

From the opposition, politicians accused Netanyahu of fostering a climate of hatred against the attorney general and law enforcement.

“When you encourage violence against the left and thuggishly threaten the attorney general, it’s no wonder that people take the law into their own hands,” Zionist Union chairman Avi Gabbay tweeted.

Opposition chief Tzipi Livni also condemned the vandalism, calling it “shocking,” and adding that “we need a leadership that unconditionally defends law enforcement officials and rekindles public support in them.”

Earlier on Thursday, a report attributed to Netanyahu comments warning of a “merciless” attack on the attorney general if he announces an indictment against the premier in the corruption cases before the April 9 Knesset elections.

The threat came in a report published in the pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom. According to the report, a senior Likud source warned earlier this week that if a decision to indict Netanyahu is made before the elections, Mandelblit “will become the target of a merciless attack” by party officials.

Some versions of the same story published by Israel Hayom attributed the comments not to a senior Likud source but to Netanyahu himself.

“There will be no holds barred and no effort to safeguard his honor. The entire Likud campaign will be directed against him,” the paper quoted the Likud source as warning Mandelblit.

The Likud party responded to the report on Thursday by denying Netanyahu had made the statements, saying, “Prime Minister Netanyahu has not spoken to anyone about this.”

“No one in Likud is threatening the attorney general,” the statement declared, charging instead that “threats and pressures to indict Netanyahu at any cost and by any means come daily from the left and the media.”

Netanyahu’s lawyer later sent a letter to Mandelblit, calling the Israel Hayom report “unfounded” and maintaining that the prime minister never made such remarks, Hadashot reported.

On Thursday evening, law enforcement officials speaking anonymously to the Hebrew-language press called on Netanyahu to publicly renounce the statements and declare that such sentiments are unacceptable in political discourse.

According to Israel Hayom, the comments came during a conversation between the prime minister and his inner circle in the run-up to Wednesday’s Knesset vote to dissolve the parliament and go to elections. In that conversation, Netanyahu reportedly also said he believed Mandelblit “won’t dare” to announce charges against him before the national ballot.

Police have recommended Netanyahu be indicted in each of the three probes against him. Of those cases, the one known as Case 4000 is considered by the State Prosecutor’s Office to be the most serious, according to television reports.

In that case, Netanyahu is suspected of having advanced regulatory decisions as communications minister and prime minister from 2015 to 2017 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.

The prosecutor’s office last week told Mandelblit the allegations constituted “a clear case of bribery,” according to Hadashot TV news. Recommendations for bribery charges were also made in the cases known as 1000 and 2000, though those were seen as less clear-cut, according to the report.

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, Israel Hayom, in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth.

Netanyahu, who has been in office since 2009, has denied wrongdoing and portrays the cases as part of a conspiracy against him encompassing left-wing activists, the media and law enforcement officials.

Michael Bachner and Raoul Wootliff contributed to this report.