MK Hazan to face pre-indictment hearing over alleged assault

Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit plans to indict MK Oren Hazan (Likud) over a 2014 altercation he had with Ariel Mayor Eli Shaviro and the municipality's director general, Avi Azar, Israel Hayom has learned.

A final decision will be made after Hazan appears at a pre-indictment hearing to make his case, the State Attorney's Office said Tuesday. The charges he may face include assaulting a public servant, insulting a public servant and disorderly conduct.

According to law enforcement officials, in October 2014 Hazan arrived at the Ariel city hall after his mother's bank account was seized over an unpaid debt, and during his visit an altercation erupted between him, Shaviro and Azar. Hazan allegedly entered Shaviro's office and refused to leave, reportedly saying he would "take care of him" by having him fired. Hazan allegedly hurled insults at Shaviro and the municipality's director general, Avi Azar, who later said he was physically attacked by the lawmaker.

If Mendelblit decides to go ahead with the indictment, Hazan will have to be stripped of his Knesset immunity before he could be put on trial. The State Attorney's Office also announced Tuesday that Hazan would not face sexual harassment charges stemming from a separate case.

Hazan issued a defiant statement Tuesday, saying he hoped the attorney general's decision was not final and that he would "hear me out with an open mind during the pre-indictment hearing and conclude that this case is merely about something unimportant that triggered complaints from both parties [Hazan and the Ariel officials]." Hazan said the case was all but shut in 2015, but then "I was elected to the Knesset, and suddenly it was reopened because the media and several politicians wanted to have me silenced."