Comptroller: PM flights funding improper

Lindenstrauss expected to approve probe on Netanyahu's travels at donors' expense

Reuters | Published: 03.30.11, 11:43

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss addressed reports Wednesday claiming the prime minister and his wife's flights abroad were funded by businessmen, saying "it is fundamentally improper for public figures to travel at the expense of philanthropists and donors. This has been said a number of times in the past."

At a State Control Committee meeting, Lindenstrauss discussed the Channel 10 inquiry accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of traveling abroad with his family at the expense of organizations such as State of Israel Bonds and other private donors during the time he served as a Knesset member and finance minister.

Lindenstrauss said the affair will be a difficult one to investigate because many of the people mentioned in the televised inquiry are not under his authority as comptroller.

According to him, a special team has already been etablished to examine the issue and is expected to decide whether or not to further probe the matter by the week's end.

Probe likely to be approved

The state comptroller added that if involving police turns out to be the answer than the issue should also be brought before Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein. Lindenstrauss said he plans to discuss the matter with Weinstein in the upcoming days. Those close to the state comptroller claimed he will most likely decide to investigate.

During the State Control Committee meeting to discuss the supervision of the State Prosecutor's Office, Lindenstrauss said: "Today the inspection of the state is in the hands of the state comptroller and the State Prosecutor's Office is also overseen by the state comptroller. We've had to deal with many reports on the State Prosecutor's Office's conduct."

"I assume the State Prosecutor's Office will hold a serious discussion on this issue," he added. "I believe nothing prevents the establishment of an official inside the Justice Ministry which will be in charge of public complaints. "

Justice Minister Yaakov Ne'eman said during the debate that this initiative is intended to help citizens and not to harm the state comptroller's authorities.

"Establishing an internal inspection authority is extremely important and will assist the state comptroller," claimed Ne'eman. "I've asked the attorney general to speed things up. I don't want it to seem as if the State Prosecutor's Office is on trial."