A follow-up investigation by N12's weekend news magazine has revealed that Yossi Asraf, head of the Givat Ze'ev local council, is the council head suspected of corruption, Israeli media reported Wednesday morning. Asraf was arrested last week and later released under restrictive conditions in a probe involving allegations of obstructing building enforcement and threatening officials.
Wednesday morning, an investigation by N12's weekend news magazine publicly identified Givat Ze'ev local council head Yossi Asraf as the council head at the center of a corruption probe, ending a brief period of partial anonymity in the case.
As The Zioneer reported, the affair first surfaced Monday morning (all times Jerusalem local) when a local council head was detained for questioning. By 08:40, the same day, The Zioneer reported the suspect had been released to home detention after 12 hours of questioning under caution, and later that a second update identified the official as Yossi Asraf of Givat Ze'ev, freed under conditions including a 14-day ban from council offices. Over the course of Monday, the reporting progressed from an unnamed official to a named suspect with specific charges: police suspect Asraf of obstructing building enforcement on a compound where he holds assets and of threatening enforcement officials, with other senior council figures also under investigation.
Background provided by the desk notes Asraf heads the Givat Ze'ev local council in Judea and Samaria, and that the case has drawn public attention due to his position. The N12 investigation now publicly links him to allegations initially reported under a gag order.
It remains open whether additional suspects beyond Asraf and senior council officials will be named, and what specific evidence police have gathered to support the threat allegations.
3 developments
- StrongPolice suspect Givat Ze'ev council head obstructed building enforcement, threatened officials
- DevelopingAttorney General reportedly opens secret investigation into Goldknopf for tax evasion
- DevelopingIsraeli Police Arrest Suspected Hamas Member Yosef Gazawi Planning Attack on Jewish Settlement; Indictment Filed
- DevelopingHilltop Youth Detain Suspect Near Jerusalem; Plane from Tehran Turns Back
Source and signal
- Internal intake