Of course it’s useless. How can third parties negotiate an agreement between two warring parties when those warring parties are not even at the table? Total nonsense. Obama’s foolish decision to abstain from the U.N. condemnation of Israel only hardened the positions of Israel and the Palestinians.

PARIS (CNN) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has labeled an international peace conference in Paris aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as “useless.”

The conference, which is being attended by some 70 countries, started Sunday morning to discuss how to bring both sides to the negotiating table and maintain support for a two-state solution. The conference is expected to last one day.

Neither Israel nor the Palestinian government are represented at the conference, and Netanyahu told his cabinet meeting Sunday that the talks were “among the last twitches of yesterday’s world.”

“It is being coordinated between the French and the Palestinians,” he said.

“Its goal is to try and force terms on Israel that conflict with our national needs. Of course it pushes peace further away because it hardens the Palestinian positions and it also pushes them away from direct negotiations without preconditions.

“I must say that this conference is among the last twitches of yesterday’s world. Tomorrow’s world will be different — and it is very near,” said Netanyahu seemingly referencing the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in five days.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the conference at the opening of the Palestinian embassy in the Vatican on Saturday.

“We praise the role of President (Francois) Hollande and the French government in organizing this international conference, and we call upon the participants to take concrete measures in order to implement international law and UN resolutions,” Abbas said.</s>Paris (CNN) The Mideast peace conference in Paris closed Sunday, calling for Israel and the Palestinians to embrace a two-state solution as the only route to peace, despite Israel's Prime Minister branding the conference "useless."

The conference, which is being attended by representatives from some 70 countries, began Sunday with the aim of bringing both sides to the negotiating table and maintaining support for a two-state solution.

"They emphasized the importance for the parties to restate their commitment to this solution, to take urgent steps in order to reverse the current negative trends on the ground, including continued acts of violence and ongoing settlement activity," the closing statement from the conference read.

Any two-state solution should satisfy both sides, the statement said. That includes recognizing Palestinians' sovereignty and their right to statehood, as well as Israel's security needs, while ending "the occupation that began in 1967" and resolving all "permanent status issues" based on UN Security Council resolutions.

Among the permanent status issues are Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, settlements, security and borders.

Israeli, Palestinian response

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet on Sunday that the conference was coordinated by the French and the Palestinians and sought to "force terms on Israel that conflict with our national needs."

He seemed to welcome the inauguration of American President-elect Donald Trump later this week, saying, "This conference is among the last twitches of yesterday's world. Tomorrow's world will be different -- and it is very near."

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Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also slammed the conference, saying it "is so detached from reality that it has extended a hand towards Palestinian obstructionism instead of towards peace."

Echoing Netanyahu's sentiments on working with Trump, he added, "In the next few weeks we will enter a new era and work with the incoming US administration to undo the damage caused by the Security Council resolution and these other one-sided initiatives."

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the conference at the opening of the Palestinian embassy in the Vatican on Saturday.

"We praise the role of President (Francois) Hollande and the French government in organizing this international conference, and we call upon the participants to take concrete measures in order to implement international law and UN resolutions," Abbas said.

'Emergency'

The talks, hosted by France, were aimed at restarting some level of negotiations after the last round of talks collapsed in 2014.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault told delegates that preserving the two-state solution is an "emergency" in the face of threats by "colonization" and continued violence.

"The parties remain very distanced in a relationship of defiance, which is particularly dangerous, and no one is immune to a new explosion of violence."

Speaking as "a friend of Israel," the foreign minister said the country's security was of profound concern, but "there will not be regional peace, solid and durable, as long as the conflict with the Palestinians will not be resolved."

Addressing the timing of the conference, in the final days of President Barack Obama's administration, Ayrault said, "Well, we have demonstrated that the entire world wishes for peace."

On France itself recognizing a Palestinian state, Ayrault said it hadn't really been discussed and that the focus was on bringing the Israelis and Palestinians to the negotiating table again.

"The position of France, and we have precedent in this, is that there is no future of peace in this region of the world if we do not reaffirm the necessity for two states," he said.

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French President Francois Hollande warned that accepting the "status quo" was not an option for the international community and criticized those who believe holding such a conference is naive.

"It would be naive to consider that bridging the gap between Israel and its neighbors, so necessary, is possible without progressing towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians," he said in a speech.

The conference comes amid rising tensions between Israeli and Palestinian leaders following December's passing of a UN Security Council resolution that condemned Israeli settlement construction.

Israel fears the recommendations of the conference could turn into another Security Council resolution during the Obama administration's final days.

Embassy controversy

Netanyahu has made it clear he's looking forward to working with Trump , who campaigned on a pledge to relocate the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a proposal that has caused consternation in the international community.

Arab and European allies have warned the incoming Trump administration that such a move would risk undermining the peace process and lead to further violence in the region.

Ayrault called the proposal a "provocation" and said previous American presidents had put forward this option in the past but ultimately balked.

"The question of Jerusalem," he said, "can only be discussed in the framework of a negotiation between all parties."

He said he looked forward to working with Rex Tillerson, Trump's secretary of state nominee.

Abbas responded to Trump's pledge by writing the leaders of Russia, China, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Arab League and others asking them to stop Trump.

US Secretary of State John Kerry warned such a move could cause "an absolute explosion in the region." Later, Kerry told reporters that it would have been inappropriate to include mention of Trump's proposal in the peace conference's final communique, according to media reports.

Last week, Trump's transition team floated the possibility of initially having the US ambassador to Israel work and live in the US consulate in Jerusalem, while the American Embassy remains in Tel Aviv.

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Abbas has written to Trump to register his concern over how moving the embassy could shatter any chances of peace.

PLO Secretary-General and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat also confirmed that Russia had been urged to prevent any such move from occurring.

"The Palestinian presidential office have sent a message to all foreign ministries asking them to use all tools to prevent Trump's decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem. This will put an end to the two-state solution and it crosses all red lines," Erekat told CNN.

Erekat also confirmed the message from Abbas was delivered to President Vladimir Putin "through Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday."</s>OCCUPIED AL-QUDS: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday dismissed as "futile" an international conference in Paris seeking to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

"The conference convening today in Paris is a futile conference," he told ministers at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting in Occupied al-Quds.

"It was coordinated between the French and the Palestinians with the aim of imposing upon Israel conditions that are incompatible with our national needs," he said.

Netanyahu´s government has bitterly opposed the conference, saying only direct talks with the Palestinians can end the long-running conflict.

The Palestinians have welcomed the multilateral approach, saying years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank.

The conference is being held without either the Israelis or the Palestinians, but Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas will meet French President Francois Hollande in the coming weeks to be briefed on the outcome, French diplomats said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault formally opened the assembly of foreign ministers and representatives from around 70 countries and international organisations.

"We are here to reiterate strongly that the two-state solution is the only one possible," Ayrault said.

The conference comes just five days before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed unstinting support for Israel.

Israel fears measures discussed at the conference could be taken to the UN Security Council before Trump takes office.

In a break with previous administrations, Trump has pledged to recognise Jerusalem as Israel´s capital and relocate the US embassy there from Tel Aviv.

Abbas warned on Saturday that such a move could "bury the hopes for a two-state solution".

The city´s status is one of the thorniest issues in the conflict, which is why foreign embassies are currently based in Tel Aviv.

The Palestinians regard Israeli-annexed east Occupied al-Quds as the capital of their future state, while Israel proclaims the entire city as its capital.

Hard-line Israeli lawmakers, including some from Netanyahu´s Likud party, have said Trump´s win represents an opportunity to quash the chance of Palestinians obtaining an independent state.

Netanyahu, who says he still supports a two-state solution, appeared in his comments on Sunday to be looking forward to the impending change in the White House.

"This conference is among the last spasms of yesterday´s world," he said. "Tomorrow will look different and tomorrow is very close."

Netanyahu slams ‘futile’ Paris peace conference was posted in World of TheNews International - https://www.thenews.com.pk on January 16, 2017 and was last updated on January 16, 2017. This news story is related to Print/179483-Netanyahu-slams-futile-Paris-peace-conference/ - breaking news, latest news, pakistan ne. Permanent link to the news story "Netanyahu slams ‘futile’ Paris peace conference" is https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/179483-Netanyahu-slams-futile-Paris-peace-conference.</s>The smell of scandal has swirled around the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, for years. But only now is the smell starting to turn to a stench, say analysts.Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, have long been known for cultivating close relations with Israel's leading business families. Those ties, many Israelis assumed, explained why the famously parsimonious couple managed to indulge such expensive tastes.Past investigations have looked into first-class transatlantic flights and stays at top hotels, but foundered on a lack of evidence that the Netanyahus had traded the high life for favours Until recently, most of the Israeli public had been amused , rather than outraged, by stories of astronomical bills at the prime minister's residence for wine, ice-cream and hairstyling.But the latest revelations have the potential to be far more damaging. This week one Israeli commentator suggested Netanyahu's conduct risked being compared to the behaviour of a head of a "banana republic" Police are pursuing two parallel investigations, dubbed cases 1,000 and 2,000.In the first case, according to leaks, Netanyahu accepted gifts from wealthy businessmen worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The prime minister allegedly offered his benefactors assistance in return.Arnon Milchan, an Israeli billionaire and Hollywood film producer, who has previously outed himself as a former Mossad agent , is said to have sent Netanyahu cigars and champagne. In exchange, reports say,In another case, theNetanyahu's lawyers do not deny that he received the gifts, but say they were not intended as inducements.The second case relates to audio recordings of lengthy meetings between Netanyahu and Arnon Mozes, the owner of the Yedioth Ahronoth media group, which includes Israel's largest paid-for newspaper.It emerged this week,In return,Israel Hayom, forcing it to become a paid-for title. Netanyahu is alleged to have responded positively to the proposal.In one of the recordings, as elections neared in early 2015, Netanyahu can reportedly be heard warning that he will "deal" with Mozes if Yedioth Aharonoth campaigns against him.On Wednesday, a former deputy chief of Israel's supreme court, Eliyahu Matza, told Army Radio that on the basis of these reports it would be "clear to any novice jurist" this was a case of bribery Netanyahu is expected to be questioned by police for a third time on the allegations in the next few days. His lawyers have indicated that they will argue that Mozes was the one extorting Netanyahu, which is why the prime minister's officials recorded the conversation.But Matza discounted such a defence.he said.Oren Persico, a reporter with Seventh Eye, an Israeli media watchdog website, characterised Mozes' offer, from what is known so far, as worse than bribery. "It looks more like a mob-style operation to offer Netanyahu protection from Yedioth Ahronoth, if the prime minister helped damage a media rival," he told Al Jazeera.The recordings were found on a phone during a search of the belongings of Ari Harow, Netanyahu's former chief of staff, during a separate fraud investigation.On Saturday, Channel 2 TV produced transcripts of parts of the conversation. Netanyahu can reportedly be heard telling Mozes: "We are talking about moderation, about a reasonable media, we need to lower the hostility towards me."Mozes responds about forthcoming elections: "We need to make sure you will be prime minister."On Sunday, as more jurists publicly condemned the tapes, Netanyahu told party officials: "There's a campaign of biased leaks, intended to mislead the public and distort the true picture, as if there were offenses here that didn't happen."The foot-dragging has fuelled concerns that Mendelblit, who was appointed by Netanyahu, is too close to him to act impartially.On Wednesday justice ministry officials and police investigators said they had opposed the delay in questioning Netanyahu and believed it had harmed the investigation. Meir Gilboa, a former head of the police national fraud squad, told the Haaretz newspaper: "The long delay seems blatantly implausible." Yousef Jabareen, a member of the Israeli parliament belonging to the Palestinian Joint List party, told Al Jazeera:It is difficult, however, to have confidence in either the attorney general or the prosecutors. The legal authorities have been under relentless attack from Netanyahu's government for years andFrom the outset of the allegations, Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, posting on Facebook: "There will be nothing because there is nothing." The background to the case is a decade-long war for readers between the two biggest-circulation newspapers in Israel. Persico said that, until the late 2000s, the Yedioth Ahronoth group had enjoyed near-monopoly status in Israel's print media. Netanyahu had grown increasingly concerned about the bad coverage he was receiving from the paper and the support it was offering his political rivals."After he lost the election to Ehud Barak [in the late 1990s, after his first term as prime minister], Netanyahu was rumoured to be telling friends he needed his own paper to limit Yedioth Ahronoth's influence," said Persico.In 2007, as Netanyahu prepared for a return to power, his political patron Sheldon Adelson, a US casino billionaire, launched the Israel Hayom newspaper.it soon had a circulation of up to 400,000 a day, making it more widely read than Yedioth Ahronoth.Israel Hayom's barely disguised cheerleading for Netanyahu quickly earned it an unofficial title - the "Bibi-paper", after Netanyahu's nickname.Rival politicians have complained that Israel Hayom's backing helped Netanyahu to win the 2009 election and has kept him in power since.Persico agreed.Freedom House, a US-based civil liberties watchdog group, downgraded Israel's press status to "partly free" last year because of Israel Hayom's "growing impact" Adelson's paper was never profitable. An investigation by Haaretz this week showed that he sunk some $190m into it in its first seven years to keep it afloat. The losses continued to grow But Yedioth Ahronoth possibly paid a higher price, as its ad revenues plummeted with its falling circulation.said Persico.It was this prolonged financial crisis at the paper, added Persico, which drove Mozes into making Netanyahu the offer currently under investigation.A key meeting between the Yedioth owner and Netanyahu occurred in late 2014,Netanyahu publicly opposed the bill, while rival parties in his government coalition supported it, giving it a good chance of success.The election effectively killed the negotiations between him and Mozes.Isaac Herzog, the leader of the opposition Zionist Union party, said this week that Netanyahu's use of Israel Hayom as a bargaining chip in the talks confirmed claims that "the editorial offices of Israel Hayom were and are run by Benjamin Netanyahu". But Jafar Farah, head of Mossawa, an advocacy group for Israel's large Palestinian minority, said the talks between Netanyahu and Mozes were only "the tip of the iceberg".he told Al Jazeera.Since his 2015 election victory, Netanyahu has reserved for himself the communications ministry and required of his coalition partners that they agree to any media initiatives he proposes.Critics have argued that Netanyahu is using the ministry's powers to pressure media companies, especially Israel's two loss-making commercial TV channels, to give him more supportive coverage Herzog demanded this week that Netanyahu immediately relinquish the communications ministry or he would petition the courts. The question now is whether these new cases will bring down Netanyahu.Jabareen noted that as a legislator he was not allowed to receive a gift of more than $70 without declaring it. "That alone should give us a sense of the magnitude of what Netanyahu has done," he said.Netanyahu's closest allies, however, have claimed that he is the victim of persecution. David Bitan, chair of his Likud party, told reporters : "In other countries, people do that [topple governments] through military coups. But we took it a step further. We do this through police coups."The analysts who spoke to Al Jazeera believed Netanyahu might be able to weather the storm, given an apparent lack of interest so far from the public, his close ties to the attorney general, and little appetite among his government coalition partners for early elections.If Netanyahu is indicted, he would almost certainly have to step down. That is what happened to his predecessor, Ehud Olmert, when he was charged - and later convicted - of receiving cash in envelopes from a businessman.Olmert succeeded Ariel Sharon, who was himself the subject of a series of police investigations that were dropped when he fell into a coma in 2006 and later died.</s>Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu might be upbeat these days: The economy is growing, his opposition is weak and the incoming Trump administration seems friendly, even to the much-maligned Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Instead, the long-serving leader is mired in a series of eye-popping corruption investigations in a country that has already jailed a prime minister and president.

Watch What Else is Making News

Police have interrogated Netanyahu several times “under caution” over questionable ties to top executives in media, international business and Hollywood, whipping up a sense that he might actually be driven from office. The latest scandal, involving secret negotiations with the publisher of a critical newspaper, is proving especially embarrassing.

The transcripts of Netanyahu’s taped negotiations with his supposed arch-nemesis, media mogul Arnon Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper group, have dominated the national agenda in recent weeks. Netanyahu allegedly promised to promote legislation that would weaken Yediot’s main competitor in exchange for more favorable coverage.

It follows previous allegations that Netanyahu improperly accepted lavish gifts from wealthy supporters including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and that his personal attorney, who is also a cousin, represented a German firm involved in a controversial $1.5 billion sale of submarines to Israel.

These follow previous repeated claims that his wife Sara misused state funds for personal use, compounding a public image of Israel’s first family as detached hedonists corrupted by years in power.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, portraying the accusations as a witch hunt against him and his family by a hostile media. Despite his impressive total of 11 years in office over two periods, Netanyahu has found himself at frequent loggerheads with much of the country’s establishment, including lately the security leadership.

“In recent days, there is an unprecedented, orchestrated media campaign to topple the Likud government that I lead. This propaganda campaign is aimed at pressuring the attorney general and others in the state prosecution to indict me,” he posted on Facebook.

Cabinet ministers must resign if indicted. But Israeli law is murkier when it comes to prime ministers, and Netanyahu has given no indication that he would step down in such a case.

The government of Netanyahu’s predecessor, Ehud Olmert, fell apart before he was indicted and ultimately imprisoned on corruption charges. Former President Moshe Katsav, who just completed a five-year sentence for rape and other sex crimes, also was forced to step down before he was indicted.

Regardless of whether Netanyahu’s actions prove criminal, opposition leader Isaac Herzog said they posed a “serious breach of trust between the government and its citizens.”

Most of the attention has focused on Netanyahu’s reported jockeying with Mozes in 2014 over how to rein in Israel Hayom a free daily financed by Netanyahu’s billionaire friend Sheldon Adelson that largely serves as Netanyahu’s mouthpiece and has damaged Yediot financially.

The payoff, allegedly, would be Yediot flipping its editorial line in favor of Netanyahu. The talks ultimately led nowhere. This week, Netanyahu confirmed for the first time that he called an early election in 2015 to block legislation aimed at curtailing Israel Hayom’s distribution by forcing it to charge a newsstand fee.

Netanyahu has since appointed himself communications minister, making him responsible for media regulation, and ordered coalition partners not to float any media-related bills without his approval.

The leaks have also raised questions about the journalistic integrity of Yediot, which has gone into damage control mode even as some of its own columnists have called on Mozes to step down. Mozes has been questioned several times by police and hasn’t commented publicly.

It is not clear whether a crime was committed, and the other allegations may ultimately prove more serious.

The Netanyahus are said to have received more than $100,000 worth of cigars and liquor from Milchan. Packer has reportedly lavished Netanyahu’s college-aged son, Yair, with gifts that included extended stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Colorado, as well as the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by Packer’s former fiancee, Mariah Carey.

On Tuesday night, Yair was reportedly being questioned by police.

Police are trying to determine whether these constitute bribes, since Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes and Milchan reportedly asked Netanyahu to press the US secretary of state in a visa matter. Israel’s Interior Ministry would not comment on Packer’s status, and a representative for Milchan did not respond to requests for comment.

None of Netanyahu’s coalition partners have come out against him. Cabinet Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, a close associate, said the Likud party was strongly behind its leader and no one was even considering making a run to replace him.

“It doesn’t seem to me, in a superficial observation, to be something corrupt or criminal,” he said.

But the saga has put a damper on Netanyahu’s joy over the arrival of Donald Trump, after eight years of testy ties with President Barack Obama. In a possible sign of trouble, Netanyahu last week suddenly canceled a trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Aides say there are no plans to attend Trump’s inauguration, despite reports that he was invited.

Trump looks to be a far more comfortable fit for Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition. He’s appointed a Jewish-American lawyer with close ties to the settlement movement as his ambassador to Israel and vowed to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem fulfilling a longtime Israeli wish.

Appearing to take a page out of the Trump playbook, Netanyahu has increasingly been attacking the press and taking to social media.

Opposition lawmaker Erel Margalit, who has been leading the calls to investigate Netanyahu, said his conduct over time makes him unfit to serve.

“Netanyahu is finished. It may take several more months but we need to start preparing for the next generation,” he said.</s>Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused the media of trying to oust him from government as more details surrounding investigations into corruption allegations against him emerge.

The Israeli prime minister allegedly tried to orchestrate a ‘quid pro quo’ deal with a newspaper publisher in 2014 in order to get favourable coverage, and of receiving “inappropriate and lavish” gifts from influential business leaders and a Hollywood film producer.

Many aspects of the two police investigations have become public knowledge thanks to the leak of hours of taped conversations, excerpts of which have been published by Haaretz and Channel 2.

“In the past few days the media has orchestrated a campaign of unprecedented scope to bring down my Likud [ruling party] government,” Mr Netanyahu said in statement posted on his Facebook page on Sunday.

“This campaign is intended to put pressure on the Attorney General and others in the prosecution so that they will indict me.”

The media took quotes out of context or lied about his intentions, Mr Netanyahu said. He also criticised the legal restrictions barring him from speaking about the details of the huge anti-corruption sting, claiming they prevented him from “defending myself."

“I can’t tell the public the true story behind these matters, which make it clear that there was never any crime here,” the prime minister wrote.

Both Arnon Mozes, the publisher of the daily Yedioth, and Mr Netanyahu’s wife Sara have been questioned by police extensively.

Legal experts have said that if some of the allegations which have surfaced in the last two weeks were proved to be true, they would constitute bribery as defined by the Israeli penal code - which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Mr Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing. The prime minister is due to be questioned for a third time later this week.</s>The publisher of one of Israel’s largest newspapers has been interviewed for eight hours as part of a sprawling police investigation into the country’s embattled prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.



The mammoth questioning of Arnon “Noni” Mozes, owner of the critical Yedioth Ahronoth tabloid, came as Netanyahu accused the country’s media – which has been publishing almost daily leaks from the case – of trying to “topple” his government.

Central to the affair, which police have called Case 2000, is the allegation that Netanyahu tried to ensure more positive coverage in the Israeli media by offering to reduce the circulation of a rival, pro-government paper in exchange for kinder coverage from Yedioth Ahronoth.

A separate police investigation, Case 1000, is also taking place into gifts received by Netanyahu’s family from wealthy businessmen.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing in relation to both investigations.

The two investigations have dominated the Israeli media for weeks and led to speculation among Netanyahu’s political rivals – as well as some ministers in his own government – that he might be forced to resign, or trigger elections, if he is formally charged.

Media interest in Case 2000 has revolved around leaks of reported transcripts of recordings of Netanyahu and Mozes found at the home of Netanyahu’s former chief of staff, in which the two men appear to discuss a deal to keep Netanyahu in power by shifting the long-critical Yedioth Ahronoth behind him.

Netanyahu has accused the media of using the leaked transcripts to systematically destroy him. Writing on Facebook, he said: “The system is simple: day after day, night after night, they [his critics] disseminate carefully selected, filtered transcripts and deliberate lies about both of the [investigations].

“Obviously, as long as the investigation is in progress, I have no possibility of defending myself. I can’t tell the public the real story behind this, which would make clear that no crime occurred.”

While Netanyahu has tried to rally support, the story of Case 2000 is seen as encompassing key themes in his years in office, not least his obsession with attempting to secure soft-ball coverage.



Famously thin-skinned about his treatment by the Israeli media, Netanyahu also serves as communications minister.

He has long benefited from the support of Israel Hayom, a freesheet owned by the American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. The loss-making paper has been nicknamed the “Bibiton”, which combines Netanyahu’s nickname Bibi with the Hebrew word for newspaper. Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that he has any input.

But leaks from the tapes appear to paint a different picture of Netanyahu’s relationship with Israel Hayom and its main rival, Yedioth Ahronoth. In the leaked version of the tapes, Netanyahu appears to suggest he could cut the circulation of Israel Hayom in exchange for Mozes’s support, including appointing more friendly journalists.

Legal experts have been divided over whether the revelations from the tapes depict a criminal conspiracy.

“This is an improper contact between a government and newspaper,’’ Eliyahu Matza, a former Israeli supreme court justice told Israel Radio recently. “It’s forbidden in every way. This is against journalistic ethics. It is against democratic values. Is there a criminal element? Yes, I think so.”

Avraham Diskin, a political science professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was unsure about whether there was criminality, but said that if an indictment came, Netanyahu could not survive it.

“There is no question [the investigation] damages his image,” Diskin said. “And in Israel political affiliation is, for many people, not really towards specific parties but towards camps of parties.



“We all know in the last election, because of the atmosphere of urgency, people from other right and centrist parties moved to [Netanyahu’s] Likud. Now I’m sure the movement is in the opposite direction.”</s>Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem February 2, 2014.— Reuters picTEL AVIV, Jan 17 — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been questioned by police in a corruption probe, yesterday denounced an “unprecedented” media campaign to bring down his government.

Police have questioned Netanyahu in a probe into whether he unlawfully received gifts from wealthy supporters.

They are also looking into a recording of a conversation he had with the owner of top-selling Yedioth Aharonot newspaper about getting favourable coverage.

Israeli media have leaked several details about the investigations, including a report by Channel 2 television on the alleged conversation between Netanyahu and Yedioth owner Arnon Moses.

The Channel 2 report alleged that the two discussed “a deal that would help Yedioth in return for favourable coverage (of Netanyahu).”

The television said the essence of the talk between Netanyahu and Moses was the possibility of downsizing or closing the weekend supplement of Yedioth competitor Israel Hayom, which is pro-Netanyahu.

In return, it added, Yedioth would tone down its coverage of Netanyahu.

At the start of a Knesset, parliament, session Netanyahu lambasted Israeli media which he said “are pursuing an unprecedented campaign against me in order to bring down (my) Likud government”.

“Among other things the campaign is aimed at putting pressure on the attorney general so that he would convict me,” said Netanyahu.

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit is also overseeing the probe into whether the prime minister illegally received gifts from wealthy supporters.

Yesterday, Mandelblit said during a meeting with students that he would not allow himself to be influenced by “the background noise of those who are trying to steer us from our goal”.

He also said he would not render public, at least for the time being, the recorded conversation between Netanyahu and Moses.

Media reports say Netanyahu allegedly received tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from wealthy supporters.

The premier’s wife is said to have also received valuable gifts.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, saying repeatedly that “there will be nothing because there is nothing”.

According to media reports Moses was questioned on Sunday and again yesterday by Israeli police but a police spokesman told AFP he could not confirm or deny the reports. — AFP</s>Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu should be upbeat these days: The economy is gro... . File - in this Sunday, March 20, 2016 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in his Jerusalem office.

Start the conversation, or Read more at NewsOn6 Tulsa.</s>JERUSALEM — Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu might be upbeat these days: The economy is growing, his opposition is weak and the incoming Trump administration seems friendly, even to the much-maligned Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Instead, the long-serving leader is mired in a series of eye-popping corruption investigations in a country that has already jailed a prime minister and president.

Police have interrogated Netanyahu several times "under caution" over questionable ties to top executives in media, international business and Hollywood, whipping up a sense that he might actually be driven from office. The latest scandal, involving secret negotiations with the publisher of a critical newspaper, is proving especially embarrassing.

The transcripts of Netanyahu's taped negotiations with his supposed arch-nemesis, media mogul Arnon Mozes of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper group, have dominated the national agenda in recent weeks. Netanyahu allegedly promised to promote legislation that would weaken Yediot's main competitor in exchange for more coverage.

It follows previous allegations that Netanyahu improperly accepted lavish gifts from wealthy supporters — including Australian billionaire James Packer and Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan — and that his personal attorney, who is also a cousin, represented a German firm involved in a controversial $1.5 billion sale of submarines to Israel.

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, portraying the accusations as a witch hunt against him and his family by a hostile media. Despite his impressive total of 11 years in office over two periods, Netanyahu has found himself at frequent loggerheads with much of the country's establishment, including lately the security leadership.

"In recent days, there is an unprecedented, orchestrated media campaign to topple the Likud government that I lead. This propaganda campaign is aimed at pressuring the attorney general and others in the state prosecution to indict me," he posted on Facebook.

Cabinet ministers must resign if indicted. But Israeli law is murkier when it comes to prime ministers, and Netanyahu has given no indication that he would step down in such a case.

The government of Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, fell apart before he was indicted and ultimately imprisoned on corruption charges. Former President Moshe Katsav, who just completed a five-year sentence for rape and other sex crimes, also was forced to step down before he was indicted.

Most of the attention has focused on Netanyahu's reported jockeying with Mozes in 2014 over how to rein in Israel Hayom — a free daily financed by Netanyahu's billionaire friend Sheldon Adelson that largely serves as Netanyahu's mouthpiece and has damaged Yediot financially.

The payoff, allegedly, would be Yediot flipping its editorial line in of Netanyahu. The talks ultimately led nowhere. This week, Netanyahu confirmed for the first time that he called an early election in 2015 to block legislation aimed at curtailing Israel Hayom's distribution by forcing it to charge a newsstand fee.

The leaks have also raised questions about the journalistic integrity of Yediot, which has gone into damage control mode even as some of its own columnists have called on Mozes to step down. Mozes has been questioned several times by police and hasn't commented publicly.

The Netanyahus are said to have received more than $100,000 worth of cigars and liquor from Milchan. Packer has reportedly lavished Netanyahu's college-aged son, Yair, with gifts that included extended stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Colorado, as well as the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by Packer's former fiancee, Mariah Carey.

Police are trying to determine whether these constitute bribes, since Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes and Milchan reportedly asked Netanyahu to press the U.S. secretary of state in a visa matter. Israel's Interior Ministry would not comment on Packer's status, and a representative for Milchan did not respond to requests for comment.

None of Netanyahu's coalition partners have come out against him. Cabinet Minister Tzachi Hanegbi, a close associate, said the Likud party was strongly behind its leader and no one was even considering making a run to replace him.

But the saga has put a damper on Netanyahu's joy over the arrival of Donald Trump, after eight years of testy ties with President Barack Obama. In a possible sign of trouble, Netanyahu last week suddenly a trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Aides say there are no plans to attend Trump's inauguration, despite reports that he was invited.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls the latest peace-conference "useless".