Most Israelis think Netanyahu lying

Most Israelis do not believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s denials of wrongdoing in the ongoing corruption investigations into his affairs, but are split on whether he should resign, according to a Channel 2 poll released Tuesday.

 

The prime minister is being investigated in two separate cases.

 

The first pertains to recordings of conversations between him and Israeli media mogul Arnon “Noni” Mozes in which the pair allegedly negotiated an illicit quid pro quo.

 

The second investigation into Netanyahu is probing claims that he and his family received hundreds of thousands of shekels’ worth of luxury gifts from businessmen including Israeli Hollywood film producer Arnon Milchan.

 

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly stressed that nothing will come of the criminal investigations.

 

Police are checking whether the Netanyahus received some $100,000-150,000 in gifts of cigars and fine wines from Arnon Milchan.

 

The couple have reportedly insisted that the sums involved were far lower, and that the gifts were unremarkable, as the Milchans are their good friends.

 

In the second case, police are probing whether conversations in which Netanyahu told Mozes he’d work to hobble the Sheldon Adelson-backed Israel Hayom daily, in exchange for more favorable coverage in Mozes’s Yedioth Ahronoth, constituted a quid pro quo deal.

 

According to the Channel 2 news poll, 54 percent of respondents said they don’t believe the prime minister’s protestations of innocence, 28% said they do believe him, and 18% said they don’t know.

 

At the same time, Israelis were divided on whether he should resign, with 44% saying yes, 43% saying no, and 13% responding that they did not know.