Rishon Lezion Mayor Dov Zur is among the 17 city officials who was detained for questioning yesterday in the widening probe into a slew of corruption allegations against coalition chairman David Bitan.
Police suspect Zur ensured his associates won municipal tenders for various building projects, even at higher than average market prices.
Yesterday, the Rishon Lezion District Court remanded Zur into police custody until Thursday, after the judge said his answers were “inconsistent” with investigation material.
Judge Amit Michaels said the court “cannot ignore the fact the suspect is believed to have attempted to conceal his actions.”
“The picture that has been painted in recent months is bleak and worrisome,” he said at the hearing.
Yesterday, Bitan was questioned for a marathon 13 hours by the Lahav 433 Serious Crimes Unit on suspicion of receiving bribes, fraud, money laundering, and breach of trust when he served as deputy mayor of Rishon Lezion in 2015.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Monday, December 4, 2017
