Netanyahu agrees to face probe over gifts
ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied any wrongdoing yesterday ahead of his expected questioning by police in a corruption probe, telling political opponents to put any celebrations on hold.
“We hear all the media reports. We see and hear the festive spirit and atmosphere in television studios and in the corridors of the opposition,” Netanyahu told lawmakers from his Likud party, according to a video posted to his Facebook page.
“I want to tell them to wait for the celebrations. Do not rush. I told you and I repeat: there will be nothing because there is nothing.”
Police were expected to question Netanyahu yesterday over whether he illegally accepted gifts from wealthy supporters, media reports said.
The long-running inquiry has looked into whether Israeli and foreign businessmen have offered gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars as well as another unspecified issue, according to the reports.
Attorney-general Avichai Mandelblit has reportedly decided to upgrade the inquiry to a criminal probe.
Public radio said Netanyahu had agreed to be questioned at his residence. It was not clear when it would occur, though some reports said it would not be until 7pm local time.
Screens were mounted at the entrance to the compound in central Jerusalem in an apparent bid to shield the investigators’ arrival.
Police have carried out the inquiry in secret over the course of eight months andar-rived at an important breakthrough recently, reports say.
More than 50 witnesses are said to have been questioned.
In July, Mandelblit said he had ordered a preliminary examination into an unspecified affair involving Netanyahu, with no details given.
US billionaire and World Jewish Congress president Ronald Lauder was among those questioned in the probe over gifts he allegedly gave Netanyahu, Israeli media reported.
Netanyahu has acknowledged receiving money from French tycoon Arnaud Mimran, who was sentenced to eight years in prison over a scam amounting to ß283-million (R4.06-billion) involving the trade of carbon emissions permits.
Netanyahu’s office said he had received $40 000 (R549 000) from Mimran in 2001, when he was not in office, as part of a fund for public activities.