Israeli Police Raids Foreign Ministry Offices

Investigators from the National Fraud Investigations Unit of the Israeli police's "Lahav 433" conducted a raid today at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Jerusalem, carrying out searches in the ministry's offices and confiscating documents. A police statement indicated that the raid is part of an investigation into the suspected issuance of diplomatic passports to individuals who are not entitled to them, including local authority heads close to ministers. The police added in their statement that they launched a covert investigation several weeks ago regarding the issuance of diplomatic passports to those who do not meet the eligibility criteria. The police stated that the investigators who raided the Foreign Ministry gathered relevant documents to continue the investigation. The website of the newspaper "Haaretz" quoted a judicial source as saying that the investigation also involves the issuance of a diplomatic passport to Yair Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Former Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is expected to be questioned by the police regarding this case.