THE PERILS OF A ONE PARTY STATE:

Zionist Union MK Stav Shaffir took to social media on Saturday to declare Netanyahu "the first mafia prime minister of Israel."

"Netanyahu is grasping to stay in power out of a desire for power and the luxuries that it brings, and not out of a desire to do good for the country," Shaffir wrote in a Facebook post.

Later, speaking on Israel Radio, she called for the attorney general to release the tapes. "We deserve to hear the full recordings, so we know how the prime minister runs the country."

At a Saturday cultural event in Rishon Lezion, Yesh Atid MK Yael German also took Netanyahu to task over the second investigation, which involves allegations the prime minister and his wife accepted lucrative gifts from a number of businessmen, most notably Hollywood film producer Arnon Milchan.

She rejected Netanyahu's explanation to police that the pricey cigars and champagne from Milchan were inconsequential because the two families were "best friends."

"The prime minister and communications minister can't accept tens of thousands of shekels from a Channel 10 shareholder, and then just roll his eyes and say 'it was from a friend,'" German said. "I have friends too, and some of them are rich, but they aren't gifting me with a constant supply of champagne."

She also lamented the implications for a free press in Israel if the allegations in the first case were proved true, particularly the alleged quid pro quo deal with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes.

"A newspaper that's willing to sell its integrity and skew coverage in favor of the prime minister is simply unbelievable," she said. "If the allegations prove to be true, it will be a [black day] for journalism."

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