Netanyahu will resign or be removed per GESARA compliance.

Netanyahu will resign or be removed per GESARA compliance. ~ Dinar Chronicles

New Arrests in Israel’s Submarine Scandal, and New Questions on Netanyahu



An Israeli naval officer holding the mooring line of a German-made submarine during a ceremony upon its arrival at a naval base in Haifa in 2014.

POOL PHOTO BY AMIR COHEN

By ISABEL KERSHNER
SEPTEMBER 4, 2017

JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not a suspect in the so-called submarine affair, one of the corruption scandals rocking Israel. But with his personal lawyer, the man he appointed as national security adviser, and now his former chief of staff among the expanding parade of suspects, analysts and critics assert that if Mr. Netanyahu did not know what was going on, he should have.

David Sharan, who was Mr. Netanyahu’s chief of staff from late 2014 to 2016, was arrested on Sunday in connection with the case, along with a former Navy chief and a former commander of the elite naval commandos. On Monday a former legislator and minister and an adviser to the current minister of energy were also arrested.

The investigation involves lucrative contracts with a German shipping company for the purchase of submarines and new missile ships that Mr. Netanyahu championed. Often described here as the gravest corruption case in Israel’s history, it began with a monthslong police inquiry and turned into a full-blown criminal investigation in February.

Public interest in the case has been intense. Apart from concern that corruption has taken root on the watch of an entrenched political leadership, many worry about its bearing on national security and the integrity of the military, Israel’s most hallowed institution.

Mr. Netanyahu’s personal lawyer and close confidant, David Shimron, was arrested earlier in the case. He represented the Israeli agent for the German company, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. Also arrested was a former deputy head of Israel’s National Security Council; Mr. Netanyahu appointed him to lead the council, but he did not take the post because of an investigation into another matter.

This week’s wave of arrests came after testimony provided by the Israeli agent, Michael Ganor, who turned state’s witness this summer.

Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Shimron, who is the prime minister’s second cousin, have vehemently denied any impropriety or collusion over the shipping deals. On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu publicly dismissed the latest developments as “foam,” suggesting they lacked substance.

Barak Ravid, the diplomatic correspondent of the Haaretz newspaper, wrote on Monday that if Mr. Netanyahu knew about the alleged misdeeds, “then this is a case of suspected offenses that violate ethical standards.”

“On the other hand,” Mr. Ravid wrote, “if this whole affair took place behind Netanyahu’s back, then the prime minister doesn’t know what’s going on around him, and surrounded himself unknowingly with a bunch of allegedly corrupt people, appointing them to the highest and most sensitive positions in government. It’s hard to decide which of these possibilities is worse.”

Moshe Negbi, the legal affairs commentator of Israel Radio, said, “This is a very serious affair because it is about bribery and about life and death, about state security, perhaps about neglecting our security and investing unnecessary public money to satisfy people’s greed.” He added, “If it is true that people took bribes, these people were given money not in order to do something, but in order for the prime minister to make certain decisions, thanks to their close relationship with the prime minister.”

A senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of what he called the sensitivity of the issue, said that trying to blame the prime minister for not knowing about something he was not involved in was unfair. The official urged patience, saying that nobody yet knows what actually transpired.

Mr. Netanyahu is a suspect in two other criminal investigations that involve suspected bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Since another former chief of staff, Ari Harow, turned state’s witness in those cases, speculation has intensified about the durability of Mr. Netanyahu’s political career.

In the first case, investigators are looking at whether Mr. Netanyahu offered favors in return for gifts of expensive cigars, pink Champagne and other goods from wealthy friends, including Arnon Milchan, the Israeli Hollywood producer.

The second case involves back-room dealings with a local newspaper magnate. Mr. Netanyahu was recorded negotiating with the publisher of Yedioth Ahronoth for favorable coverage in exchange for curtailing the circulation of a free competitor, Israel Hayom, which is considered largely supportive of Mr. Netanyahu.

At a meeting of activists of his conservative Likud Party last week Mr. Netanyahu repeated a now-familiar theme, accusing the Israeli left and the news media of conspiring to bring down his right-wing government.

In yet another complication for Mr. Netanyahu, a court order resulting from a reporter’s petition forced him this week to reveal the frequency and times of his telephone conversations with the former editor of Israel Hayom and its backer, the American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. The Israeli news media matched the timing of some of the calls with particularly sympathetic headlines, particularly around election time, prompting accusations that the prime minister’s relationship with the giveaway newspaper may have constituted illegal campaigning.

Source: NY Times