Israeli police to investigate Netanyahu in 'case 4000'
Tel Aviv: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife and son will be questioned by the police on Monday as part of an ongoing corruption investigation, the police confirmed on Sunday.
Shaul Elovitch, former chairman of Israel's largest telecom company Bezeq, and his wife, Iris Elovitch, will be questioned too; Xinhua quoted a police spokesperson as saying.
The five are suspects in a major bribery case, dubbed by the police "case 4000," in which Bezeq under Elovitch allegedly received regulatory and financial benefits in return to positive coverage for Netanyahu in Walla, a news site under Elovitch's control.
Netanyahu will be questioned in the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem, while the other four in the offices of Lahav 433 anti-corruption unit in Lod, outside Tel Aviv, the police said.
Their questioning will be held at the same time in separate rooms. They will be investigated under caution, meaning they are all suspects in the case.
The questionings are expected to focus on the information provided by Nir Hefetz, Netanyahu's former media adviser and until recently one of his closest associate, who turned a state witness against him last month.
It will be Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu's second questioning in the "case 4000."
Netanyahu and his associate have been entangled in at least four corruption investigations over the past months.
The long-time leader denies any wrongdoing and maintains that the investigations are part of a witch-hunt perpetrated by the media and "the left."
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AIMIM wins Malegaon Central seat by 162 votes
Malegaon (Maharashtra), Nov 23: In a closely contested election, Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has retained the Malegaon Central assembly seat, winning by a razor-thin margin of 162 votes.
This victory in the north Maharashtra constituency marks a significant turnaround for Khalique, who previously enjoyed a commanding lead in the 2019 elections, winning by over one lakh votes.
Khalique, an Islamic scholar, received a total of 1,09,653 votes this time, narrowly defeating his nearest rival, Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, who got 1,09,491 votes.
There were a total of 13 candidates contesting in this Muslim dominated constituency. Barring Khalique and Rasheed, two other candidates -- Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed of Samajwadi Party and Ejaz Baig Aziz Baig managed below 10,000 votes. Other remaining candidates were below 1,000 votes.
This election marks Khalique's third term as an MLA. He initially represented the Malegaon Central seat in 2009 as a member of the Jan Surajya Shakti party.
However, Khalique faced a setback in the 2014 elections when he contested under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party and lost.
His return to the assembly in 2019 under the AIMIM banner solidified his political presence, and despite the significantly reduced margin this year, he has once again emerged victorious.
The results highlight the competitive nature of the Malegaon Central constituency and underscore Khalique's resilience in maintaining his position amidst changing political dynamics.
