Ari Harow, Netanyahu's chief of staff until 2015, signs a deal with the prosecutor's office in exchange for leniency in the investigation into him
A former Benjamin Netanyahu aide agreed to testify against the Israeli prime minister in return for leniency in the investigation, posing a serious legal threat to the head of government, press reported on Friday.
Ari Harow, Netanyahu's chief of staff until 2015, has signed a deal with the prosecution, the daily reported Haaretz on the Internet and several other Israeli media.
The media had revealed in recent days the negotiations in progress between justice and Mr. Harow and underlined the danger that such an agreement would represent for the Prime Minister, already in the crosshairs of the investigators.
The investigations into Mr. Netanyahu have been making headlines for months. A police document, made public accidentally according to the press, confirmed Thursday that these investigations were aimed at alleged facts of corruption, fraud and breach of trust.
Mr. Netanyahu would be directly concerned by two investigations.
One of them is based on the suspicion that he illegally received gifts from very wealthy personalities, including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan. The total value of these gifts has been estimated by the media at tens of thousands of dollars.
Another probe is investigating whether he tried to strike a secret deal with the owner of the daily Yedioth Ahronoth for positive coverage from the newspaper, in return for which he would have helped reduce the operations ofIsrael Hayom, competitor of Yedioth.
Mr. Netanyahu has constantly defended himself from any illegal action.
Source: © Ex-Netanyahu aide agrees to testify against him | The Times of Israel
