Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) referred today to the exposure of WhatsApp correspondence between the Israel Securities Authority representative and the detention judge in Case 4000 - the Bezeq case - attesting to coordination between them before the detention extension hearings.
"I suggest everyone be patient until the investigation concludes," Shaked said at a press conference, "I declare that if a judge is found to have gone bad, he will not remain a judge, and if necessary, I will enter the Judicial Appointments Committee and exercise impeachment authority," Shaked said at a press conference.
"I was shocked, like all the people of Israel, at the sight of the correspondence between prosecutor and judge. This is a severe blow to public trust in the judicial system," Shaked said, adding that "at the request of the Attorney General, the case will undergo criminal investigation."
On Sunday, Channel 10 revealed a series of instant messages on the WhatsApp chat program between Judge Ronit Poznansky-Katz, and Eran Shaham-Shavit, an investigator from the Israel Securities Authority.
The two discussed the upcoming hearing for suspects arrested as part of the Case 4000 investigation, which centers on suspicions that a Netanyahu aide provided chief Bezeq shareholder Shaul Elovitch with regulatory benefits in exchange for sympathetic coverage to the Prime Minister and his wife on the Walla! news website, which is owned by Elovitch as well.
In the messages, the Israel Securities Authority official informed Poznansky-Katz of his agency’s intention to request that several suspects’ arrests be extended, telling the judge to “act surprised” when he makes the request in court. She agreed.
A recent survey revealed that 57% of the public does not trust the Israeli legal system.