Israeli Court Convicts Man in Bribery Scheme Involving Former Presidential Aide

The Haifa District Court has found Mazed Hamdan guilty of bribery in a corruption case involving officials from the Likud party. Hamdan, who represented private individuals and their interests before government bodies, used his long-standing acquaintance with Ze'ev Dolinsky, a former assistant to ex-President Reuven Rivlin, to advance his clients' economic interests. Their connection stemmed from shared activities within the Likud party.

Between 2018 and 2020, Hamdan paid Dolinsky at least 6,000 shekels to help expedite applications for planning and construction permits, entry visas, and medical matters with state institutions. Dolinsky, in turn, leveraged his official position and connections to facilitate these requests.

Additionally, Hamdan, along with co-defendant Maruan Rayan, was involved in bribing Dolinsky to influence appeals for health ministry qualification exams that two of Rayan's relatives had failed. Judge Muhammad Ali of the Haifa District Court convicted Hamdan based on his plea agreement.

Under the terms of the plea deal, both sides will recommend a sentence of six and a half months of community service, along with a suspended sentence and a fine to be determined by the court. Earlier this year, Nissim Cohen, another defendant in the case and a former parliamentary aide to Knesset Member Yitzhak Vaknin, was convicted of numerous bribery and money laundering offenses. Cohen received a two-and-a-half-year suspended sentence and a fine, later reduced to 22 months imprisonment by the Supreme Court following an appeal. Legal proceedings against the remaining defendants are ongoing.