Likud Files Complaint Against Ehud Barak Over Threats Against Mandelblit

The Likud filed a complaint with police against former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, accusing him of threatening State Attorney Avichai Mandelblit. “This is a clear case of attempting to extort the State Attorney,” the Likud said in its complaint, demanding that police open an investigation into the matter.

At issue was a social media post by Barak, in response to a report on Channel 13 that Mandelblit was considering not recommending that Netanyahu be tried on corruption charges in Case 2000. “If Mandelblit does not recommend charges against Netanyahu in Case 2000, despite the recommendations of all prosecutors and all police investigators, this will be very strong evidence that he is not completely clean and impartial.

“If the High Court does not intervene, we must have an official state inquiry. He [Mandelblit] is an unworthy individual. He already diluted the cases against Sara Netanyahu,” in which she was accused of using state funds to pay for personal meals and vacations. “He should be ashamed of himself.”

In Case 2000, Netanyahu is accused of conspiring with Yediot Acharonot publisher Arnon Mozes to shut down Yisrael Hayom. The two, according to police, held numerous discussions about the matter, with the Prime Minister and Mozes both “taking specific steps” to advance the quid pro quo deal of better coverage for Netanyahu in Yediot Acharonot in exchange for acting against Yisrael Hayom. Although a law to ban Yisrael Hayom never reached the Knesset for a vote, Netanyahu is accused of asking Yisrael Hayom’s publishers to limit distribution of the paper on Fridays, in order to benefit Yediot Acharonot. Netanyahu has called the accusations “nonsense,” pointing to the many negative and critical articles against him in Yediot Acharonot.

In response to the Likud’s filing of a complaint against him, Barak said in a social media post that “the Likud doesn’t scare me one bit. They are small-minded people who are afraid of the coming day of judgment. I may file a complaint against Netanyahu for threatening the State Attorney himself, as well as for threatening police investigators. His Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked threatened High Court judges. They are all corrupt and they all need to go home.”