Holyland housing complex
Photo: AFP
Holyland affair: Senior Beit Shemesh official detained
Police believe Motti Hota, who held senior post in planning and construction committee, may have helped advance real estate project in Jerusalem
A senior figure in the Beit Shemesh town council was detained for questioning Wednesday on suspicion of being involved in the Holyland affair.
Motti Hota, director-general of the Beit Shemesh Municipality, has held a senior post in the district planning and construction committee that approved the Holyland real estate project in Jerusalem, and police think he may have helped promote it.
Police have not yet decided whether to request an extension to his detention.
On Sunday State Prosecutor Moshe Lador ordered to remand Meir Rabin, who is one of the prime suspects in the corruption case, for an additional seven days. Rabin is suspected of mediating between the project's entrepreneurs and those who allegedly received bribes from them.
Investigators now believe they can link Rabin to several offenses he has yet to be questioned about. Authorities expressed concern that if released, he might try to interfere with ongoing investigations.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is also a person of interest in the affair, has yet to be interrogated.
Also Sunday, for the first time since the affair broke, the local Jerusalem planning and building committee discussed the real estate enterprise to demand that construction on the project be frozen.
At the end of a loaded discussion, the committee decided to impose a 100-day construction freeze on the Holyland project.
