Acting Premier Yigal Allon defended today his colleague, Justice Minister Yaacov Shimshon Shapiro, against allegations that he was slow to investigate an alleged scandal in the affairs of Netivai Neft, the government-owned company drilling oil in the Sinai. In a statement issued following the Cabinet meeting, Allon said the entire Cabinet dissociated itself from the “false suspicions” and “groundless allegations” regarding Shapiro’s actions.
Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir, who last week rejected a demand that Shapiro resign, said at today’s Cabinet meeting that he would make a statement in the Knesset this week about the official probes now under way into charges against Netivei Neft, the Autocar Co. and the Vered water resources development company, all firms which the government owns or in which it has a controling interest. The demand for Shapiro’s resignation was made by Mrs. Shulamit Aloni, a lawyer and former Knesset member.
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