The gifts were allowed to be displayed at the Prime Minister’s Office or his official residence, but Netanyahu was supposed to return them when his term ended.
There were also gifts from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and a fancy booklet of quotes of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
When Netanyahu left the Prime Minister’s Office after losing the 1999 election, he was also accused of illegally taking gifts that belonged to the state. The police recommended charges against Netanyahu in that case but the attorney-general decided against an indictment due to a lack of evidence and because he had left politics.
A spokesman for Netanyahu said all gifts were returned and the gifts on the list are not in Netanyahu’s possession.
The spokesperson also called the report “an attempt to create a fictitious episode to distract the public from the NIS 23 million spent on renovating the private residences of [Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett and [Alternate…
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