By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem Published: April 2 2009 16:21 | Last updated: April 2 2009 18:42 Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, stoked fresh controversy on Thursday when it emerged that the far-right politician spent much of his second day in office fielding questions from the police about bribery allegations. An Israeli police spokesman said: “Avigdor Lieberman was questioned under caution by police today for 7½ hours on suspicion of carrying out the following: bribery, money laundering and breach of trust.” The interview, conducted by members of the country’s national fraud unit, was part of an “ongoing investigation”, the spokesman added, without providing details of the case. Israeli media have reported in the past that the probe concerns suspicions Mr Lieberman (pictured) received a bribe through a consulting firm registered by his daughter. Israel’s new foreign minister has been the target of police investigations for more than a decade, though the authorities have never issued criminal charges against him. Mr Lieberman denies any wrongdoing. Thursday’s move by the police is likely to add to the controversy surrounding the politician and his political views. The leader of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu secured a record number of seats in February’s general elections after a campaign that was widely criticised for targeting Israel’s Arab minority. He has also repeatedly lashed out at Arab and Palestinian leaders in speeches and interviews over the past years. Mr Lieberman took over as foreign minister only on Wednesday, but immediately sparked sharp criticism from Arab countries when he gave a hawkish speech rejecting the previous government’s peace efforts. He is particularly unpopular in Egypt, after he suggested publicly last year that Hosni Mubarak, the country’s president, should “go to hell”. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egypt’s foreign minister, was quoted by news agencies on Thursday as saying that he would refuse to shake hands with his Israeli counterpart. “As long as Lieberman’s positions stay the same, if we see each other by chance at a meeting I will keep my hands in my pockets,” he said. Mr Aboul Gheit added: “Whoever insults the dignity of Egypt must face the consequences and accept responsibility for his words.” Mr Lieberman is the latest in a long line of senior Israeli politicians to become the target of a police investigation. Ehud Olmert, who stepped down as prime minister this week, was dogged by a string of criminal probes throughout his tenure, and eventually decided to resign last year as his position became increasingly untenable. However, in both Mr Lieberman’s and Mr Olmert’s case, police and prosecutors have not launched any formal charges. In a separate development on Thursday, an Israeli teenager was killed and another Israeli child injured by an axe-wielding assailant in the Jewish West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin. An Israeli television channel said the attacker was a Palestinian, who managed to flee from the scene. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009Israeli police question Lieberman
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Posts
