Netanyahu questioned again in long-running corruption probe

benjamin-netanyahu

NAN

Israeli police questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday over what local media said was a case involving the country’s largest telecoms firm, one of three corruption probes in which he has been named as a suspect.

Netanyahu, a conservative premier now in his fourth term, has denied any wrongdoing in all the cases. He has been questioned over so-called “Case 4000” before and police have yet to make a recommendation about any charges.

The authorities allege Netanyahu awarded regulatory favors to Bezeq Telecom Israel in return for positive coverage of him and his wife on a news website owned by the company.

It could be months away, raising questions as to possible impact on a national ballot scheduled for 2019. Polls show strong support for a Netanyahu reelection, but the investigations have helped rally the center-left opposition.

As police investigators arrived at the prime minister’s official residence in Jerusalem on Friday, their car was thronged by anti-Netanyahu demonstrators who had unfurled a huge banner reading: “Crime Minister”.

In a brief joint statement, the police and the Israel Securities Agency said only that the Prime Minister had been questioned as part of “the effort against financial crime”.

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