According to a report on Israel’s Channel 2 TV news, former Shinui Minister Yosef Paritzky is being investigated for accepting bribes. The police later said, however, that the accusations are not serious.
The Channel 2 report said Paritzky’s driver is being questioned for having arranged the bribe, which was allegedly paid to Paritzky by a renowned lawyer. Paritzky supposedly accepted the money in return for getting a plan to move a gas facility in Kiryat Atta cancelled.
The gas facility in question was supposed to be moved after a government decision in 2000, but the owners of the site proposed instead moving the large gas tanks underground to save money. The lawyer in question suggested to Paritzky, according to Channel 2, that the he (Paritzky) would receive part of the money saved by burying the gas tanks.
Already embroiled in scandal, the Shinui minister was fired from his position as Minister of Infrastructure last month following a recorded conversation between he and a private investigator in which Paritzky proposed framing his fellow party member Avraham Poraz – which was aired on national television.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected Shinui's conditions for sitting in a coalition with the UTJ party tonight, saying that Shinui has no say in the matter of coalition negotiations. "I am running the show," said Sharon.
The Channel 2 report said Paritzky’s driver is being questioned for having arranged the bribe, which was allegedly paid to Paritzky by a renowned lawyer. Paritzky supposedly accepted the money in return for getting a plan to move a gas facility in Kiryat Atta cancelled.
The gas facility in question was supposed to be moved after a government decision in 2000, but the owners of the site proposed instead moving the large gas tanks underground to save money. The lawyer in question suggested to Paritzky, according to Channel 2, that the he (Paritzky) would receive part of the money saved by burying the gas tanks.
Already embroiled in scandal, the Shinui minister was fired from his position as Minister of Infrastructure last month following a recorded conversation between he and a private investigator in which Paritzky proposed framing his fellow party member Avraham Poraz – which was aired on national television.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon rejected Shinui's conditions for sitting in a coalition with the UTJ party tonight, saying that Shinui has no say in the matter of coalition negotiations. "I am running the show," said Sharon.