Three witnesses have been called to testify in a police investigation into the use of government funds in the home of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu. The funds, which were meant to be used for security renovations in the residence, may have been used for personal use such as renovating the swimming pool and lighting.Netanyahu announced Thursday night that he would be suing Israeli news channels and two reporters for libel following the publication of a report into a luxury Jacuzzi installed in Netanyahu's private Caesarea residence with state funds.Netanyahu tweeted that he is filing a libel suit against KAN 11, Channel 12, Channel 13 and reporters Guy Peleg and Aviad Glickman for the sum of NIS 500,000, due to them publishing "false" stories and not asking for comment.He also suggested that the source of these claims could be a lie concocted by the prosecution of his ongoing criminal trial in order to draw attention away from, as he put it, "the dramatic collapse" of the cases against him.
It is unclear if his attorney filed the lawsuit yet.The Israel Police has opened an investigation into allegations of a luxury Jacuzzi worth tens of thousands of shekels installed in the Netanyahu private residence in Caesarea at the expense of the state, N12 reported.עוד הערב יגיש מטעמי עו״ד יוסי כהן מכתבי תביעה על הוצאת לשון הרע ודיבה נגד הערוצים 12, 13 ו-11, והכתבים גיא פלג ואביעד גליקמן, בסכום כולל של 500,000 שקל. הם פרסמו פרסום שקרי וכלל לא פנו קודם לכן לקבלת את תגובתנו
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) July 1, 2021
The investigation was opened at the request of Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit in the suspicion that as part of a renovation that was done in the residence for security purposes, a Jacuzzi worth NIS 50,000 was installed in the residence.
As of yet, the investigation is not focusing on Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu.
The report comes as Netanyahu awaits trial on various cases related to corruption and breach of trust.On November 21, Netanyahu was indicted on a number of cases. His trial began on May 24, 2020. A spokesperson for the Israel Police said, "this is not part of [the other cases Netanyahu is currently facing] but there is definitely a story here that is very similar to Case 1000."The trial is currently suspended and is expected to begin again on July 12.The Netanyahu family later denied the allegations, saying that no Jacuzzi was ever installed in the residence. In a statement, Netanyahu suggested that the report was made "to hide the many millions that are currently being invested from the money of Israeli citizens in the private homes of Bennett, Gantz and Lapid." Aaron Reich contributed to this report.