Three Netanyahu advisors indicted for intimidating witness in PM's trial

Three of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s most-trusted advisers will be indicted for the intimidation of a witness, subject to a hearing, in relation to the prime minister’s ongoing bribery, fraud and breach of trust trials, the State Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday.

Yonatan Orich, Ofer Golan and Israel Einhorn attempted to intimidate Shlomo Filber, a witness in Netanyahu’s Case 4000, while being employed by the Likud as part of its 2019 election campaign, according to the State Attorney’s Office.

The three allegedly sent a mobile device with an external speaker to Filber’s home, and played a recording in which they accused the witness of lying.

“What did they promise you, Momo [Filber]?” said the recording. “The Left is using you to take down the Likud.”

The investigation has been ongoing since 2019

The investigation into the incident was opened in 2019, and saw multiple rounds of High Court of Justice hearings. Controversy arose about the Israel Police’s authority to access the phone data of two of the aides, but in 2022, the court approved of the data probe.

The Central District Attorney’s Office said the Lahav 433 police unit had found relevant messages on the phones and transferred them to prosecutors.

Former Netanyahu aide Filber is a witness in a case in which the prime minister is accused of making regulation changes in the interest of Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch in return for positive coverage on the Walla website.

Another Netanyahu trial witness, businessman Arnon Milchan, is also set to hear berating calls outside of the Brighton, England, courthouse that he is set to testify in on Sunday – though these slogans will be shouted by those that oppose Netanyahu, not his supporters.

Defend Israeli Democracy UK claimed on Tuesday that hundreds of Israelis were set to protest outside the courthouse. Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, is expected to be present in the hearing room, though not the courtroom itself.

“Netanyahu’s assault on Israeli democracy, only to save his own neck, has gone too far,” said protest group organizer Sharon Shochat. “An indicted prime minister is not fit for government and we will be reminding him of that from every corner of the world. Protesters have demanded that Sara Netanyahu, who in Godfather fashion will be present at the testimony, should be ridiculed for the corrupt ‘first lady’ that she is, but this is not personal; we stand here for democracy.”

Journalists also petitioned the prosecution to be present at the courtroom along with representatives from the prosecution and defense, but were denied. The hearing will not have a court officer to ensure that rules of decorum are followed, or to ensure security as parties enter in and out of the room.

Milchan, who is alleged to have given Netanyahu expensive gifts in exchange for tax law changes, is expected to testify for 10 days. Milchan had said that he was too ill to travel, so the court allowed for him to testify remotely through a video call.