Netanyahu's attorneys: Investigate police who threatened PM - Inside Israel

Attorneys for PM file complaint after anonymous police officials say Netanyahu will not receive favored treatment in future invetigation.

Attorney Yossi Cohen, a senior member of Prime Minister Netanyahu's defense team, appealed to the Police Investigations Department and filed a complaint demanding an urgent investigation against Israeli police officials who publicly threatened Netanyahu.

On Monday, senior police officials responded on Channel 12 News to attacks by Prime Minister Netanyahu against the law enforcement system, headed by the prosecutor's office and the police, ahead of the start of his trial.

According to them: "There has never been a prime minister here who tried to so blatantly and openly violate the law enforcement system. Netanyahu's disproportionate claims testify more about him than to the investigators and the attorneys."

The senior officials added that if Netanyahu was questioned again, he would not receive favorable treatment. "Lahav 433 investigators did a great job, ignoring all the pressure they were trying to exert on them. This would continue to work even if the Attorney General decides on another investigation against Netanyahu in his stock portfolio. We will respect him - but as in his previous investigations, the Prime Minister will receive no special treatment."

Cohen said in his complaint: "The anonymous threat of police investigators launching another idle investigation against the Prime Minister, in response to exposing the use of blackmail and threatening witnesses against him, is an attempt to shut down the mouths of no less than the Israeli prime minister. These threats are a clear example of the ills that need to be fixed to ensure democracy in Israel.

Netanyahu said yesterday before entering the courtroom, "It's all part of a propaganda campaign of 'just not Bibi' - to sew together a file against me. I need to publish the transcripts and interrogation that they ousted witnesses to incriminate me."

"What stands on trial today is the attempt to thwart the will of the people in an attempt to overthrow me and the right-wing camp. It's been over 10 years that the Left hasn't managed to do it an the ballot box. Police officials and prosecutors have joined together with left-wing journalists to make up ridiculous cases about me in order to distance the nationalist camp from the country's leadership. They haven't cared for many years if an obedient poodle comes from the right - but I'm not a poodle, I'm not prepared to uproot localities and that's why they have to bring me down in every way," Netanyahu said.