BREAKING: Bibi Confidant New Witness Against Him in Multi-Billion Dollar Submarine Corruption Affair

?האם יצחק מולכו יהפוך עד מדינה נגד נתניהו בפרשת הצוללות

ס, לוסי אהריש אמרה את שם העו״ד הנוסף שעוכב לחקירה בפרשת הצוללות pic.twitter.com/fbC5O44gW3

— Einav Schiff (@Einavschiff) November 5, 2017

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UPDATE: Bibi’s supporters in the comment thread question my claim that either Molcho or Shimron have agreed to testify against Netanyahu.  I’ve consulted my Israeli source who informs me that both were offered deals by the police to do so.  They were told that they could testify either against each other or against Netanyahu.  But that whoever agreed first would get the easy deal.  There is pressure on both men to do a deal.  It remains to be seen what will happen.  But anything they say in their interrogations which impeaches Bibi may be used against him.

At least two Israeli journalists have broken a gag order prohibiting naming a new witness in the corruption probe against Bibi Netanyahu in the German submarine affair.  The gag order is in place to prevent the naming of police witnesses for 48 hours after they give testimony (that would mean the Israeli press can identity the new witness on Tuesday morning).  In this case, Lucy Aharish was the first TV reporter to name Netanyahu confidant, Yitzhak Molcho, as a new witness in the case.  Molcho has been one of the prime minister’s closest advisors over many decades.  Most recently, he’d been tasked with negotiating the retrieval of the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed during Operation Protective Edge and the return of three Israelis who crossed the border into Gaza.

Molcho resigned from his portfolio about a month ago in a statement that barely caused a ripple in Israeli media.  Reports had said that sources close to Molcho noted he was leaving because of “incessant attacks” against him.  The only parties attacking the government’s role in this affair were the families of the detained Israelis in Gaza.  That didn’t seem a terribly compelling argument.  At the time, no one believed his leaving had much broader implications because staff leave Bibi’s employ on a frequent and regular basis.

There had been a legal case before the Supreme Court demanding Molcho step down because of the conflict of interest involved in his being both a partner in the same law firm as another party to the case, David Shimron; and also being the latter’s brother-in-law.  It was thought Molcho might be stepping down to avoid a ruling against him by the Court.

While the other witnesses, Mickey Ganor and David Shimron are longtime Netanyahu attorneys and close to the Israeli leader, with the prosecution securing the cooperation of someone of Molcho’s status, this is an indication the investigation is drawing ever closer to the prime minister himself.  While all media reporting this story have affirmed that there is no existing case or evidence leading directly to Netanyahu, it’s clear that that’s where this investigation is headed.  If they prosecute the underlings and don’t get the boss, they’ll not have accomplished much since Netanyahu had to have been the prime mover of the entire project.

It appears that these witnesses have chosen self-preservation over loyalty to their longtime rainmaker-client, Bibi Netanyahu.  And once again Israel’s increasingly corrupt political and financial system reveals how everything from traffic tickets to $5-billion submarine purchases are sources of greed and rapaciousness.  It’s important to note that weapons sales, because they’re part and parcel of the national security state and its apparatus, are sacrosanct.  No one reviews them.  No one holds anyone accountable regarding them.  The difference in this case is the sheer scale of the greed involving billions and that it involves an increasingly unpopular prime minister who’s hung onto power for over a decade.  He has far too many enemies not to have made a few within the Israeli police and prosecutor’s office.

Another Netanyahu poodle who masquerades as a journalist tweeted this statement directly from the PMO (which likely means Bibi himself):

גורם בכיר בלשכת ראש הממשלה בעקבות עיכוב שמרון ומולכו:
מציע לבראנזה לקחת 3 לימונים לעשות מהם מיץ ולשתות בבת אחת.
זה ימחק להם את החיוך הזדוני

— שמעון ריקלין (@Riklin10) November 5, 2017

Translation:
“Senior official in PMO in light of the detention of Shimron and Molcho: ‘I suggest to the gossip columnists: take three lemons, turn them into juice, and drink it all at once.  That will wipe the wicked smile off your face.'”

This indicates that Netanyahu himself wished to make known that Molcho had turned on him, even if it meant violating a judicial gag order.

A related scandalous factor in this case is that no charges or even investigation have commenced within Germany against Thyssen Krupp, the company which manufactures the Dolphin submarines Israel was purchasing.  The German side claims it can’t investigate because Israelis have refused to coöperate.  To me, that’s the lamest claim imaginable.  You are the most powerful nation in Europe and can’t figure out a way to gather evidence against a German weapons contractor?  Or perhaps it’s just that you don’t want to…

One thing is certain, the German side in this deal is at least as guilty as the Israeli.  Heads should roll in both countries.