Israel’s attorney general will not investigate a lavish London speaking tour by Benjamin Netanyahu.
Justice Ministry sources said Monday that Menachem Mazuz turned down requests by an anti-corruption watchdog group to open a criminal probe against the former prime minister, who is alleged to have run up a $35,000 bill while on a 2006 visit to Britain.
Netanyahu, who had flown to London to drum up support for Israel’s war in Lebanon, denied wrongdoing and has said he would press a libel suit against the Israeli television station that revealed the cost of the trip.
According to Justice Ministry sources, Mazuz found insufficient grounds in the complaint for an investigation into whether Netanyahu’s tour, footed by his British hosts, could be seen as a form of graft. The tour included first-class flights and hotel accommodations.
