Roundup: Fresh corruption scandals set to impact Israeli politics

Fresh corruption allegations against two major political figures, a top minister and the head of the opposition, are expected to make an impact on Israel's political system.

Allegations recently surfaced against Aryeh Deri, head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party serving as interior minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reigning coalition, and against Isaac Herzog, head of the Zionist Union and chief of the opposition to Netanyahu's government in the parliament, after months of police investigations.

Israeli media first reported the allegations against Deri that are being examined by the Israeli Attorney General and the Israeli police.

While details were not given about the corruption affair Deri is suspected to be involved in, Israelis were quick to react to the allegations, as Deri had already spent time in prison for corruption.

Channel 2 news, which first reported the suspicions against Deri, said he is investigated for involvement in a "severe corruption" case.

Deri was found guilty of corruption while serving at the same post, an interior minister, in the early 1990s. He had served a prison sentence from 2000 until 2003 following his conviction on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Less than a day after the allegations against Deri were made public, head of the opposition and chief of the Zionist Union list Isaac Herzog was said to be probed as well, for illegal campaign funding.

The suspicions against Herzog go back to the 2013 internal elections in the Labor party, part of the Zionist Union List, in which Herzog was a contender against former chairwoman Shelly Yechimovich.

Israeli law permits receiving a certain amount of money from each donor. It is alleged that Herzog received funds indirectly from contractors, therefore bypassing the law of the maximum amount each candidate can receive from a single donor.

The opposition leader denied the allegations, saying the probe is the result of political slander by political opponents, specifically naming political activists from the Netanyahu's Likud party.

Herzog, a lawyer by profession, had another brush with the law in 1999, while he was investigated for his involvement in suspected violations of the election funding law by then Labor chief Ehud Barak.

Herzog maintained his silence during his interrogation and the Attorney General decided to close the case against his involvement due to lack of evidence.

Following the March 2015 elections, Netanyahu established a narrow coalition, with a slight 61-59 majority over the opposition in the Israeli parliament, which comprises 120 lawmakers.

This has made it more difficult for Netanyahu, whose coalition depends on the whims of lawmakers. Netanyahu had lost several votes in the Knesset after failing to secure a majority.

Shas, the ultra-Orthodox party headed by Deri, is a major component in Netanyahu's right-wing government coalition.

Deri was an important factor in Netanyahu's authorization of a natural gas deal last year. His resignation from his previous post as economy minister allowed Netanyahu to take the ministry for himself and advance the plan.

The orthodox minister became interior minister in January after Silvan Shalom from Netanyahu's Likud party resigned amid allegations of sexual harassments that surfaced against him.

If Deri is further implicated, it may affect his Shas party, which was mired in political battles after the death of its spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, in 2013. The party may face further destabilization, which might prompt Netanyahu to take in another party into his coalition, perhaps Avigdor Liberman's Israel Beytenu (Israeli is our home) nationalist party.

The investigation against Herzog is likely to help his rivals within his party, specifically Shelly Yechimovich, who may try to take away the leadership of the party once more.

While it appears that Herzog's affair will be less of an influence to the ruling coalition, recent media reports in Israel suggested the allegations surfaced against Herzog just as Netanyahu and Herzog were conducting advanced contacts for Herzog's Zionist List union to enter the government.

The Ha'aretz daily reported on Thursday that up until the announcement of the investigation against Herzog, he and Netanyahu "had been in touch" for the Zionist Union to enter the governing coalition. Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon also alluded to such contacts in a public statement a day earlier.

The daily said the contacts intensified in recent weeks, with parties apparently willing to reach an agreement during the current Spring break in the Knesset (parliament) sessions, reporting that several drafts of an agreement were exchanged between Netanyahu and Herzog in recent weeks.

Some pundits suggested the allegations against Herzog were made by those objecting the union.

There have been several reports over the past year of possible contacts for the Zionist Union to join the narrow Netanyahu coalition and give it more stability.

The current government is considered to be one of the most right-wing governments in Israel's history, with Netanyahu's Likud, the settlers-backed Jewish Home party and religious parties.

Netanyahu's government is facing growing diplomatic pressure and various challenges amid an ongoing wave of violence with the Palestinians since October, which claimed the lives of 28 Israelis and the nearly 200 Palestinians.

Other than the possible political implications, more corruption affairs may possibly further alienate Israelis and increase their distrust in the political establishment, as more and more officials have been mired in corruption.

Israel's former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has started serving a 19-month prison sentence in February, after he was convicted for bribery and obstruction of Justice. He was forced to resign in late 2008 as corruption charges started surfacing against him.

Avraham Hirschson, who served as Israel's finance minister between 2006 and 2007, was convicted of stealing close to 2 million shekels (about half a million U.S. dollars) in 2009 and had served a five-year prison term.

Other than the two imprisoned former officials, other politicians, and many heads of municipalities, were charged with various corruption charges, with a recent investigation checking improprieties in the handlings of members of Lieberman's Israel Beytenu party. Endit