(Reuters) – Police are expected to question Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his official residence in
Jerusalem on Monday on suspicion of receiving gifts from
businessmen in breach of his role as a public servant, Israeli
media reported. The move was authorized by Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit,
who decided after a preliminary probe that there was sufficient
evidence for a criminal investigation, Haaretz newspaper
reported. The questioning will take place on Monday evening,
Israel Radio said.

The police and Justice Ministry would not confirm when the
interview would take place or the nature of the investigation,
details of which have appeared in the media in recent days.
Netanyahu’s office has denied any wrongdoing. “All the supposed affairs will turn out to be fiction,” his
family spokesman said on Monday. “We are repeating: there will be
nothing, because there is nothing.” Photographers were camped outside the heavily guarded residence,
hoping to get pictures of investigators arriving. Black screens
were erected inside the gates of the property to block the view. Haaretz and other newspapers said the probe related to gifts
worth “hundreds of thousands of shekels” ($1=3.85 shekels) given
to Netanyahu by Israeli and foreign businessmen.

Channel 2, a commercial network, said the investigation was one
of two cases now open against the prime minister, although it
said details of the second remained unclear.

Netanyahu, 67, has been in power on and off since 1996. He is
currently in his fourth term as prime minister and will become
Israel’s longest-serving leader if he stays in office until the
end of next year.

He and his wife, Sara, have weathered several scandals over the
years, including investigations into the misuse of state funds
and an audit of the family’s spending on everything from laundry
to ice cream. They have denied any wrongdoing.

Netanyahu is not the first prime minister to be questioned in a
criminal case.

Ehud Olmert, who held office from 2006 to 2009, is currently
serving 18 months in prison after being convicted of breach of
trust and bribery in 2014.

Former prime minister Ariel Sharon was questioned while in office
in 2003 and 2004 over allegations of bribery and corruption
involving him and his two sons. In 2006, his son Omri was
convicted of corruption and served time in prison.

Netanyahu’s police appointment drew a barrage of commentary from
the center-left opposition in parliament, with politicians
calling for him to go.

Ahead of a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu responded,
saying: “I suggest the opposition calm down.”

Israeli commentators pointed out that while Netanyahu may be
questioned, it has happened many times in the past and prime
ministers have gone on governing, sometimes for years.

 

(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)