MK Oren Hazan
MK Oren HazanHadas Parush / Flash 90

Assaf Shavit, a senior official in the State Prosecutor's Office, has announced that the office will not open an investigation against MK Oren Hazan (Likud) for alleged threats against Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. 

Shavit noted in the letter sent to Aryeh Avnery, chairman of Ometz: Citizens for Good Governance and Social and Legal Justice, that the decision followed the opinion of the State Prosecutor. 

Avnery filed a petition against Hazan in June in the wake of allegations from Channel 2 that the MK had pimped out escorts and provided crystal meth to Israeli tourists while managing a casino in Burgas, Bulgaria. 

After Edelstein suspended Hazan from his duties as deputy speaker in response to the allegations, Hazan reportedly countered by threatening to find incriminating stories about Edelstein.

Sources close to Edelstein told Walla! News that Hazan got an aide to Edelstein on the phone and said "what did you do to me? From now on I'll start searching for stories about the Knesset Speaker and I won't hesitate to use them."

The reason the State Prosecutor decided not to open an investigation, Shavit noted, is that the information came from media reports rather than directly from the source, making it difficult to distinguish between the real story and potential embellishments. 

Shavit added that even if the alleged statements could be attributed to Hazan, it is unclear if they pose a "threat" as defined in Israel's Penal Code. 

Furthermore, Shavit wrote to Avnery, Edelstein and his aide never filed a complaint against Hazan, making an investigation moot.