Nir Hefetz, a former top media adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, has turned state’s witness in the so-called “Bezeq Affair,” a dramatic development that could strengthen the evidence against the premier. In what also has been coined Case 4000, Netanyahu is suspected of orchestrating positive media coverage for himself from the owner of the popular Walla news site, Shaul Elovitch, who is the controlling shareholder of the Bezeq communications giant. In return, Netanyahu allegedly helped Bezeq buy the Israeli satellite cable provider Yes while overriding any anti-trust issues raised by ministry officials. Hefetz, who was released to house arrest on Sunday after spending fifteen days in custody, joins Shlomo Filber, a longtime confidant of the prime minister and former director-general of the Communications Ministry—which Netanyahu headed at the time of the alleged wrongdoing—who last month signed a deal to turn state’s witness and possibly provide incriminating testimony against the Israeli leader. According to officials, the suspicions against Netanyahu in the Bezeq probe are far more serious than the accusations in two other cases, in which police in February recommended that Netanyahu be indicted for fraud, breach of trust, and bribery. In Case 1000, the prime minister is accused of accepting lavish gifts in return for providing favors to wealthy benefactors, whereas in Case 2000 he allegedly sought to trade positive newspaper coverage for benefits to Yediot Ahronot owner Arnon Mozes. Ari Harow, Netanyahu’s chief of staff for one year beginning in mid-2014, turned state’s witness in August and agreed to provide information about those two cases in return for a lighter punishment for separate charges against him. Meanwhile, Netanyahu dismissed the police announcement about Hefetz, reiterating his oft-stated moniker that “there will be nothing as there is nothing.”
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