Israeli police revealed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had held a secret deal with the Israeli media Tycoon Arnon Mozes that would benefit both men, Israeli TV Channel 2 reported yesterday.
Mozes is the owner of leading Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, Ynet and Ynet News and is now in the centre of the investigations into accusations of corruption which have been levelled at Netanyahu, the Anadolu Agency said.
According to a report by the prominent Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the deal likely included Netanyahu offering financial and business advantages to Mozes in exchange for media coverage which showed him in a good light.
Haaretz said that during the investigations, police confronted Netanyahu with recordings between him and Mozes. The paper did not mention Mozes name, but referred to him as a businessman and referred to the investigation as “the 2000 case”, noting that Netanyahu was surprised by the evidence presented against him.
On Thursday, Israeli police questioned Netanyahu for the second time, this time for five hours. He is also expected to be questioned for a third time soon.
The Israeli government’s legal advisor allowed the police to question three other businessmen in relation to the allegations of corruption brought against Netanyahu.
Meanwhile, the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak called for ousting Netanyahu over the corruption suspicions.
On Twitter, he wrote: “It is a shock. Bibi [Netanyahu] cannot remain a prime minister… The noble ministers in his government must oust him; otherwise, they will lose their credibility.”