PM calls report ‘shocking’ and an ‘atom bomb’ that proves the corruption cases against him are a conspiracy, right-wing lawmakers call for investigations into allegations

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement before entering a courtroom at the Jerusalem District Court on May 24, 2020, for the start of his corruption trial. Among those alongside him from left are Likud MKs and ministers Gadi Yevarkan, Amir Ohana, Miri Regev, Nir Barkat, Israel Katz, Tzachi Hanegbi, Yoav Gallant and David Amsalem (Yonathan SINDEL / POOL / AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement before entering a courtroom at the Jerusalem District Court on May 24, 2020, for the start of his corruption trial. Among those alongside him from left are Likud MKs and ministers Gadi Yevarkan, Amir Ohana, Miri Regev, Nir Barkat, Israel Katz, Tzachi Hanegbi, Yoav Gallant and David Amsalem (Yonathan SINDEL / POOL / AFP)

 

Senior law enforcement officials have filed a complaint with the state comptroller in recent days alleging that senior police officers and the state prosecutor engaged in a wide-spread cover up of a serious conflict of interest by one of the investigators into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, in order not to derail the corruption investigations into the premier, Channel 12 reported Monday.

Netanyahu reacted to the report, calling it “shocking” and an “atom bomb” that proved the corruption cases against him was a conspiracy. Senior Likud officials called for an investigation into the charges.

The officials allege that Superintendent Avi Rotenberg, the chief investigator into the allegations Sara Netanyahu misspent public funds for her personal benefit, did not disclose to his superiors in 2016 that he was in an extramarital relationship with Judy Nir-Mozes, the sister of Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes who has since been charged, together with the prime minister, in the so-called Case 2000.

Nir-Mozes is the ex-wife of former Netanyahu rival in the Likud party Silvan Shalom, and a media personality and talk show host who has been a frequent and harsh critic of Sara Netanyahu. Nir-Mozes is also a stake-holder in Yedioth.

Israeli socialite, investor and talk show host, Judy Nir-Mozes (L), and Israeli journalist and Channel 20 news anchor, Shimon Riklin, participate in a pannel, on November 11, 2019. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)
Israeli socialite, investor and talk show host, Judy Nir-Mozes (L), and Israeli journalist and Channel 20 news anchor, Shimon Riklin, participate in a pannel, on November 11, 2019. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

 

In June 2019, Sara Netanyahu was convicted of misusing public funds as part of a plea deal in a case involving allegations she illegally procured and then misreported catering services at the Prime Minister’s Residence.

The agreement saw her escape a conviction for aggravated fraud, but plead guilty to a lesser charge of taking advantage of a mistake. She was ordered to pay NIS 55,000 ($15,210) to the state — NIS 10,000 as a fine and the rest as restitution.

 The TV report showed internal police documents purportedly revealing that when confronted about rumors of his relationship, Rotenberg denied them and said there was no conflicts of interest.

As a consequence, Rotenberg was also privy to details about the Case 2000 investigation.

Case 2000, involves accusations Netanyahu agreed with Mozes to weaken the circulation of a rival daily in return for more favorable coverage from Yedioth, Netanyahu was charged with fraud and breach of trust, while Mozes faces bribery charges.

Arnon Mozes arrives at the Jerusalem District Court on May 24, 2020. (Amit Shabi/Pool/Flash90)
Arnon Mozes arrives at the Jerusalem District Court on May 24, 2020. (Amit Shabi/Pool/Flash90)

 

The case is one of three that Netanyahu has been charged with. He has denied the accusations in all the cases, alleging he is a victim of a conspiracy to unseat by the press, law enforcement and the legal system.

The report said Roni Ritman, who led the Lahav 443 anti-corruption unit, eventually learned of Rotenberg’s relationship with Nir-Mozes, but failed to report it to the Justice Ministry’s Police Internal Investigations Department (PIID).

Instead, Ritman decided to handle the issue “discretely,” and suggested that Rotenberg move to a different position.

The connection was only relayed to PIID — which investigates alleged wrongdoing by police officers — after Rotenberg’s wife approached the police and warned she would go public with the information.

The Justice Ministry unit was “horrified” by the nature of the information and called for the failure to be investigated, according to Channel 12.

PIID investigators wrote that Rotenberg “was aware of the personal interest of Nir-Mozes in the outcome of the investigation and the way it was handled, including the close relationship between her and her brother.”

“The suspect positioned himself in clear conflict of interest,” they wrote.

However, then-state prosecutor Shai Nitzan let the case sit, with prosecutors later concluding that despite the connection, there was no reason to investigate Rotenberg, since there was no indication he worked to benefit Nir-Mozes during the course of the investigation, the report said.

The TV report said the PIID was prevented from probing the allegations over fears that the information would leak and provide Netanyahu with powerful ammunition in his public campaign to paint the investigations as a conspiracy against him.

In 2018, the head of the PIID was replaced and months later the case was closed, with the decision saying there was no longer a need to investigate as both Rotenberg and Ritman had both since left the police.

All those accused in the Channel 12 report denied the allegations.

Rotenberg, who is now a lawyer in a private firm, said in response: “There was no connection between my acquaintance with Judy Nir-Mozes and the way the investigation was handled — without any agenda,” noting that one officer does not guide the direction of a case by himself.

State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan speaks at the annual Justice Conference in Airport City, outside Tel Aviv on September 3, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan speaks at the annual Justice Conference in Airport City, outside Tel Aviv on September 3, 2019. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

He also said he was never exposed to the materials of Case 2000, namely the recordings of Netanyahu and Mozes.

The State Prosecutor’s Office in its own response to the report called the allegation “baseless lies,” saying all decisions were made according to evidence available and in accordance with the law.

“Efforts to connect these decisions to the cases against the prime minister are ridiculous and conspiratorial,” the statement said.

Netanyahu, however, said the report validated his long standing claims of a conspiracy targeting him and his wife.

“Shocking! (Channel 12 reporter) Amit Segal has dropped an atomic bomb that proves with correspondence between the police and the prosecutors: this is how they framed Prime Minister Netanyahu, with criminal actions and by subverting the investigations,” Netanyahu wrote in a social media post sharing the Channel 12 story. “Share the truth.”

Senior Likud and right wing officials, including newly appointed Internal Security Minister Amir Ohana, called for an investigation into the story.

In a further example of the police’s questionable handling of the fallout surrounding its probes into the premier, Channel 12 also revealed Monday that the state prosecutor also prevented an investigation into police chief Roni Alsheich, fearing that this too could undermine the Netanyahu investigations.

Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a welcoming ceremony for Alsheich at the start of his term, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, December 3, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a welcoming ceremony for Alsheich at the start of his term, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, December 3, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

 

Following the 2017 cop killing of an unarmed Bedouin man, then police chief Roni Alsheich reportedly leaked to several news outlets false information claiming that the PIID was hiding evidence proving that the victim had ties to terror groups.

The head of the PIID at the time Uri Carmel sent a letter to Nitzan expressing his outrage over Alsheich’s conduct. The then-state prosecutor responded in an email leaked to Channel 12 that while he too was disturbed by the “scandalous” actions of the police chief, “there are national interests that also must be taken into consideration,” he said, referencing the ongoing attacks against the law enforcement system led by Netanyahu and his supporters, to which Nitzan did not want to provide more ammunition.

Channel 12 reached out to Nitzan for comment, without mentioning that it had the email in question in its possession. The former state prosecutor said allegations that he prevented the publication of Alsheich’s false claims were “false lies.”

As reported by The Times of Israel