Atty Gen approved gifts probe against PM, but dismissed graver charges

After police questioned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on suspicion of accepting improper benefits (gifts) Monday night, Attorney General Avihai Mandelblitt issued a statement. He said that he had decided to upgrade the investigation into the PM's gifts from businessmen charge, after new evidence had been received.

At the same time, the attorney general dismissed for lack of evidence other graver corruption allegations that were widely reported by local media for months. He found no grounds, therefore, to pursue charges of 2009 election rigging or campaign financing improprieties, or support for claims that Netanyahu had allowed business tycoons to pay for expenses incurred in his trips abroad.  Dr. Mandelblitt did not rule out further allegations against the prime minister, which he said would be disclosed at a later stage.