From Haaretz
After initial attempts to solve the microphone problem, including activation of the back-up system, failed, Likud Director General Arik Barami charged that Sharon’s speech had been sabotaged, saying that the prime minister’s opponents had poured a bucket of water on the microphone’s electrical connections.
Police later responded that an informal examination had produced no evidence of sabotage: no cables had been disconnected, nor was there any sign that water had been spilled on them. However, they added, they were waiting for a formal complaint before opening an official investigation, which would involve expert electricians who might uncover a less obvious form of sabotage.
POSTSCRIPT
Jeremy Fogel, author of the Just Stam blog, adds this about Israel’s Microphone-Gate:
“Sharon dueled with Yitzhak Shamir over microphones in an infamous Likud central committee meeting in 1992. Sharon’s aides reportedly lowered the volume on a microphone before Netanyahu spoke at a Likud central committee meeting in 2002.” [Source: jpost.com]