Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to postpone questioning in corruption cases

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked police to postpone questioning him in two corruption cases as he plans to leave for the US on Saturday, Israeli Kan radio station reported.

“Netanyahu is scheduled to be questioned by the police in two cases involving the purchase of German submarines and another involving suspicion of corruption related to the Israeli telecommunications company Bezeq but he is working hard to postpone the date of questioning,” the radio station said yesterday. Local media claimed Netanyahu was attempting to evade investigations.

“If the Israeli police agree to postpone the questioning on Thursday, it will not be able to question Netanyahu the following week because he will travel to the United States to attend the AIPAC Policy Conference.”

Netanyahu is currently entangled in four political scandals: Case 1000 which involves allegations that the PM and his wife accepted illegal gifts from businessmen; Case 2000 which accuses Netanyahu of attempting to buy favourable newspaper coverage; Case 3000, also known as the “submarine scandal”; and Case 4000, in which a close associate of Netanyahu is suspected of providing confidential information to Israel’s largest telecoms company.

The prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, has also been accused of using public funds for private expenditure in the prime minister’s households. Only 20 per cent of respondents to the recent survey believe she is innocent.

Netanyahu’s corruption scandal – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]