The request, confirmed Monday by the office of Prime Minister
Netanyahu, ousted from the top job and replaced by Prime Minister
A senior Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, confirmed the prime minister's office contacted Netanyahu to return gifts he received as premier. The
It is customary for foreign leaders to bestow gifts on each other during official trips. But gifts worth over a certain amount —
The unreturned gifts allegedly include a rectangular box made of glass decorated with gold leaves, bearing Obama's signature and the first book of the Bible from Putin. The list also reportedly includes gifts from French and German leaders, a pope and various benefactors and ambassadors.
In a statement, the Netanyahu family said all gifts the law required to be returned have been given back, and that those “in question are not in the possession of former Prime Minister Netanyahu.”
The
During his first term in office in the 1990s Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, were suspected of pocketing gifts and foreign contributions received from world leaders — items considered state property. The Netanyahus also were suspected of accepting favors from a contractor. Both cases were closed without charges.
Netanyahu's recent term was filled with gossipy scandals about his official spending. His spending on ice cream caused a meltdown when it was reported that in 2012 he'd budgeted
More outrage ensued the next year when it was reported that he spent
In 2016, an official expense report revealed that Netanyahu spent more than
Also in 2018, a recording surfaced of Netanyahu’s eldest son, Yair, joyriding with his super-rich buddies to
Now, Netanyahu himself is on trial for fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases while he served as prime minister.
Among the witnesses prosecutors have named is Ellison, though it is unclear why. Ellison bought almost all of Lanai in 2012 for a reported
But Ellison and Netanyahu have long been reportedly close. The
For weeks, the family spokesman refused to confirm that the Netanyahus were on vacation on Lanai, saying only that they are paying for a vacation out of their own pocket.
But others on holiday on the island have relayed sightings to the The Associated Press of a conspicuous Hebrew-speaking security retinue on the Pacific idyll.
Photos and other accounts on social media appear to confirm the family stayed for two weeks in Ellison's private enclave. One photo appeared to show a scowling Netanyahu sitting on a luggage cart in
Asked about the propriety of hanging out with a witness in Netanyahu's corruption trial, the family spokesman replied: “The law doesn't forbid him from meeting with witnesses.”
The trip has also raised eyebrows because Netanyahu, who led the country's fight against the coronavirus before he was ousted, ignored recommendations by government experts to avoid unnecessary travel abroad while the country grapples with the fast-spreading delta variant.
Netanyau's family is required to go into a mandatory one-week quarantine upon their return to
Kellman reported from
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission., source