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Israel's coalition chairman quits amidst corruption investigation

Xinhua,December 21, 2017 Adjust font size:

JERUSALEM, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Israel's coalition chairman, also one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's closest allies, said Wednesday he was stepping down due to the ongoing corruption investigation against him.

David Bitan, chairman of Israel's right-wing coalition and a lawmaker with the Likud, has been at the center of a wide-ranging criminal investigation over suspicions of bribery, fraud, money laundering, and breach of trust.

"The current situation makes it too difficult for me to function and I don't want to harm the work and functionality of the coalition," Bitan said in a statement.

"This morning, I asked the prime minister to release me from my role as chairman of the coalition," he said.

Bitan would keep his sit in the parliament for now. "I will continue to serve respectfully as a Likud member of the parliament and do all I can to continue to serve the public," said Bitan. "I thank the prime minister for his trust and support," he added.

Bitan, Netanyahu's main political arm in the parliament, was appointed by Netanyahu to serve as the chairman of the coalition two years ago.

He is one of the most vocal defenders of Netanyahu, who himself is under two criminal investigations over corruption allegations.

David Amselam, another lawmaker with the Likud and a close ally of Netanyahu, is newly appointed as chairman.

David Bitan and David Amsalem were the two main sponsors of the so-called "recommendation bill." The bill aims to end the police's current practice of recommending the general attorney office whether to press charges against a suspect upon concluding their investigation.

Bitan is suspected of taking bribes from a criminal organization head when he was a politician in the municipality of Rishon Lezion, Israel's fourth-largest city, located south of Tel Aviv.

He was questioned three times by the police. According to Channel 2 news TV, the police are close to striking a deal with a key suspect to become a state witness. Enditem

 

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