Amir Peretz alleges bribery attempt for Iron Dome tenders
The former defense minister and hopeful head of the Labor Party alleges that a main competitor for contracts on development of the Iron Dome defense system indirectly offered him a bribe of NIS 1 million to reopen the bidding process.
"One day a friend of mine entered my office and told me 'there is a million shekels waiting for you in the bank. I only ask one thing: announce that you are ready to hold a new hearing on the Iron Dome project and hear from other companies'," said Peretz.
Peretz also noted that the same bribe was made to his friend in the hopes that he would be able to influence Peretz to reconsider hearing more tenders from other companies on the development of the project.
"He even told me 'you don't have to commit to a change in decision. Just hold a new hearing,'" Peretz added. "I told him, 'do you see the door? Go through it as quickly as possible before you leave here in handcuffs.'"
Only after he made this threat, Peretz claimed, did the individual cease to offer the bribe to him and his friend.
"I was never directly approached (by any company) with an offer like that. Apparently these companies know who they're dealing with," said Peretz.
While Peretz does not know exactly which company made the illicit offer, he believes it was made by a central bidder in the tender process for development of the Iron Dome.
"When you're talking about a NIS 5 billion project, they spare no means. Even citizens of Sderot filed a petition against me in the High Court saying the Iron Dome didn't protect them and they wanted the laser batteries instead."
Peretz added that in addition to the petition at the High Court, others in the security establishment were also not supportive of the system.
"When I promoted the Iron Dome project, none of the IDF commanders supported the decision. Neither Chief of Staff Dan Halutz nor Chief of Staff Ashkenazi, even though I appointed him. It was a principled objection.
"All the defense companies opposed to the project hired the biggest advertising agencies in Israel to explain that the defense minister 'does not understand anything'. There were even brief articles describing me as a child from the periphery who is frustrated that he didn't have toys to play with and therefore is now seeking to promote Iron Dome."
(Translated and edited by Fred Goldberg)
