The Central District Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, 20 Kislev, filed a criminal indictment in the Petach Tikvah Magistrate Court against MK (Likud) Oren Hazan, charging him with assaulting a public servant and improper behavior in a pubic place. The indictment refers to an incident which occurred in Ariel in 2014, prior to his becoming a MK in 2015.

The decision to file the indictment was made by the Attorney General Dr. Avichai Mandelblit, in accordance with the recommendation of the State Attorney, after the arguments of the Knesset Member were rejected at a hearing.

According to the indictment, in October 2014, after Hazan learned of a foreclosure imposed by the Ariel municipality on his mother’s bank account for unpaid taxes, he came to the municipal offices and demanded information about the foreclosure.

When he realized that the city manager, Avi Ezer, had ordered the foreclosure, he waited for his arrival – and then shouted at him and cursed him. Hazan allegedly pushed Ezer causing him to strike a railing.

Later on, Hazan burst into the office of Mayor Eli Shviro, without receiving permission, and began yelling and cursing the mayor. The mayor ordered Hazan to leave his office, but Hazan refused, threatening to “take care” of the mayor and make sure that the latter did not “sit in the chair anymore.”

Hazan dismissed the allegations as a “pure political witch hunt.”

Hazan, a rookie parliamentarian, has cultivated a reputation as a rogue politician. He snapped an unexpected selfie with President Donald Trump after he landed in Israel in May, challenged a Jordanian parliament member to a fistfight and berated a disabled opposition member.

He has also been accused of solicitation and drug use while managing a casino in Bulgaria, charges he denies.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)