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Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu. (Daniel Bar-On / Jini)
Last update - 22:13 16/03/2008
Netanyahu: I acted for the state, not at the expense of the state
By Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: second lebanon war, israel 

Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday responded publicly to allegations that and his wife spent NIS 131,000 on a six-day trip to London during last year's Second Lebanon War.

"I paid for my personal expenses out of my own pocket," Netanyahu told a news conference in Ashkelon on Sunday. I acted for the state, not at the expense of the state."

The opposition leader denounced the allegations against him as attempts by his rivals to keep the Likud from rising to power and replacing the current government. He said that as elections approached he expected character attacks to worsen, and vowed that he would not be "deterred."
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During the press conference, Netanyahu blasted the cabinet for its policy on rocket fire and said that the nation wanted a "new" and "improved" government that would focus on protecting its citizens.

"We cannot accept the prime minister's comments that Ashkelon residents must get used to living with missile fire," he said. "Nobody needs to get used to that."

Netanyahu's lawyer filed a NIS 2 million libel suit Sunday morning against Channel 10 following the network's expose Friday.

The lawsuit maintains that Netanyahu was sent to London on a public relations campaign to make Israel's case for the war against Hezbollah, and that he did not indulge in a "pleasure voyage," as the expose had claimed.

According to Netanyahu, his private expenses during the trip, which was funded by the Israel Bonds organization and the Jewish community, were paid out of his own pocket. "Our stay in London didn't cost the State of Israel one shekel and was funded entirely by me, as I paid out of pocket for all my private expenses. What we have here is political persecution and an attempt to prevent the Likud, and me in particular, to achieve leadership of this country, as most of the public wants," Netanyahu said Saturday in response to the Channel 10 report.

He added: "Channel 10's reports are filled with evil fallacies and a systematic slant of data. During my trip in August 2006, I worked 20 hours a day giving interviews, lecturing, meeting journalists, editors, political leaders and Jewish leaders to repel Arab propaganda."

Knesset spokesman Giora Pordes said Sunday that Netanyahu never submitted to the Knesset any requests to authorize this trip, and therefore the Knesset Ethics Committee never looked into the details of the trip. This statement contradicted Netanyahu's own claim that the Knesset Ethics Committee had approved retroactively all trips taken by his wife, Sara.

Netanyahu made his decision, after holding weekend consultations, in order to quash any bad publicity stemming from the report. Netanyahu's lawyer, Yaakov Weinroth, plans to present the court with an official letter from the Connaught Hotel, where the couple stayed, which allegedly proves that the couple was charged NIS 11,000 for theater tickets because of a mistake made by a hotel official.

Last week, the Hebrew daily Yedioth Aharonoth published an article that claimed Netanyahu had paid his top advisers out of his own pocket, without reporting the payments to the tax authorities. Also, the report claimed that the two advisers submitted their resignations after quarreling with Netanyahu's wife.

Likud MK Gilad Erdan rebutted claims that Netanyahu's expenses were irresponsible, saying that, "[Their] complaints prove this is a campaign run by foes of Netanyahu and the Likud."

Also Saturday, the Knesset Ethics Committee announced it would quiz Netanyahu over the London trip while MK Israel Hasson (Kadima) asked Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to launch an investigation.

Most of Netanyahu's expenses were paid by a U.K. Jewish group headed by a British millionaire, but NIS 5,000 for the Likud leader's flight tickets was paid by the Knesset, Channel 10 said.

It also reported that a previous visit to London by Netanyahu in 2005 had cost NIS 84,000.


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      1.   Hard working Netanyahu 05:21  |  Steve the Pals. 16/03/08
      2.   Big Ben, Livin Large 05:47  |  Robert 16/03/08
      3.   Good luck, Bibi. Politically motivated libel should not be tolera 07:36  |  Chaim 16/03/08
      4.   Don`t start a fire 07:54  |  DC 16/03/08
      5.   He is enemy of peace 08:09  |  Taha Mokhtar 16/03/08
      6.   Epicurean 09:10  |  Michael 16/03/08
      7.   The left and the media must be scared. 09:12  |  Hannah 16/03/08
      8.   Just like the super secret Mercaz HaRav plot 09:44  |  Binyamin Dissen 16/03/08
      9.   20 hours a day charging a fortune 09:53  |  SJ 16/03/08
      10.   Press are shills for "Etrog Ehud" Olmert 09:53  |  Ilan 16/03/08
      11.   Channel 10 is Haaretz 10:08  |  s 16/03/08
      12.   Whose worse? 10:12  |  Paul 16/03/08
      13.   Netanya vs Chanel 10 10:36  |  Rachel 16/03/08
      14.   Great presence in London 10:50  |  Michael 16/03/08
      15.   #1, I suggest we send Bibi for a week to take lessons 11:22  |  Mark Anthony 16/03/08
      16.   Does Ha`aretz have an agenda? 11:24  |  Sammy 16/03/08
      17.   $5 Taha. Should we assume you do trust your 11:24  |  Mark Anthony 16/03/08
      18.   #9 SJ, envy is eating you, doesn`t it? You get squat 11:29  |  Mark Anthony 16/03/08
      19.   Mark Anthony, drop the sarcasm 11:46  |  Philip 16/03/08
      20.   dont forget "bye bye bibi" 12:05  |  gb 16/03/08
      21.   Interesting pics of Israeli politicians - Haaretz 12:12  |  x-ray 16/03/08
      22.   PUBLIC RELATIONS 12:12  |  amihai 16/03/08
      23.   TRIP DIDN`T HELP MUCH, DID IT? 12:19  |  Robert 16/03/08
      24.   Bibi did his job! 12:52  |  Norman 16/03/08
      25.   NETANYAHU 13:03  |  mike 16/03/08
      26.   It was well known 13:12  |  Paul Wood 16/03/08
      27.   Stop Bibi! 13:35  |  Ahmed al-khalidi 16/03/08
      28.   The Manipulating OLMERT and his Tricks 13:45  |  Dolly 16/03/08
      29.   The 5th column?who pays to Peace Now? 13:57  |  Antizionist 16/03/08
      30.   Ok, Now the Opposition Can Come Out Fighting 14:03  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 16/03/08
      31.   #3 Chaim 14:08  |  Paul Wood 16/03/08
      32.   Bibi,... in the media meat grinder.! 14:09  |  Stephen. 16/03/08
      33.   OK Philip of Hertzliya, no more sarcasm! 14:18  |  Mark Anthony 16/03/08
      34.   self destructive and treacherous left 14:29  |  eddie 16/03/08
      35.   To # l Steve the Pals - GO, get him! BIBI.... 14:33  |  Dagma 16/03/08
      36.   Good=bye OLMERT.... Hello BIBI....... 14:53  |  Natasha 16/03/08
      37.   #32 Stephen 14:56  |  Paul Wood 16/03/08
      38.   Epicurean #6 15:02  |  ?? 16/03/08
      39.   To Taha Mokhtar # 5 - Bibi an Enemy of Peace? 15:08  |  Truth 16/03/08
      40.   A clear and undeniable pattern by the Left 15:13  |  Jimmy Dhimmi 16/03/08
      41.   Channel 10 Should Sue Netanyahu Hu Hu 15:14  |  Markus 16/03/08
      42.   Nethanyahu was in the UK during Lebanon 2? 15:19  |  Chris Linthwaite 16/03/08
      43.   With Elections on the Agenda soon 15:24  |  Onlooker 16/03/08
      44.   Mark Anthony, drop the sarcasm 16:53  |  Philip 16/03/08
      45.   # 37. Paul Wood, hello dude! 17:05  |  Stephen. 16/03/08
      46.   Natasha - go wash dishes 17:18  |  Philip 16/03/08
      47.   Ch 10 must have forgotten how many things illegal Olmert has done 17:22  |  Shepherd 16/03/08
      48.   Bibi 17:42  |  Jake 16/03/08
      49.   46 Philip - Are you one of Olmert`s Party Guests? 17:59  |  Natasha 16/03/08
      50.   To # 46 Philip - WINOGRAD was a Hoax 18:14  |  Dagma 16/03/08
      51.   #42 Was Watching Hezbollah TV ? Or BBC? 18:43  |  Liliane 16/03/08
      52.   #46 Philip: Only The LEFT Is So Racist in Israel 18:47  |  Ovadiah ben Avraham 16/03/08
      53.   Surely Netanyahu 18:48  |  Chris Linthwaite 16/03/08
      54.   Bibi is the lefts worst nightmare! 18:49  |  Wise Saba 16/03/08
      55.   WHAT A FORMER COMMANDO HE WAS 18:49  |  indrajaya 16/03/08
      56.   Why was a guy like Netanyahu allowed to enter the UK....???? 18:52  |  Swiss (Dino) 16/03/08
      57.   Netanyahu: I am not a crook! 18:53  |  Natallie Durson 16/03/08
      58.   To Rachel # 13 - ALIZA OLMERT and her Extravagance 19:01  |  Dolly 16/03/08
      59.   in israel all we have to choose from are criminals 19:02  |  proud zionist 16/03/08
      60.   # 13 Rachel - Thanks for the Eye-Opener.... 19:19  |  Sheister 16/03/08
      61.   What a great, selfless man 19:27  |  peacelover 16/03/08
      62.   Bibi Behaviour 19:28  |  igal azuelos 16/03/08
      63.   Go Netanyahu 19:29  |  gregg 16/03/08
      64.   To indrajaya - # 55 - That was OLMERT! 19:31  |  Dagma 16/03/08
      65.   HE SENT WEAPONS TO SERB AT 1990-S 19:36  |  indrajaya 16/03/08
      66.   Which Irgun ever paid for what doesn`t really matter 19:47  |  Ashamed 16/03/08
      67.   #27...ahmed al-khalidi 19:51  |  Nemesis 16/03/08
      68.   chosen of the chosen 19:53  |  hollingsworth 16/03/08
      69.   Tis a pity - Wives of Israeli Politicians..... 20:47  |  Dolly 16/03/08
      70.   Dagma, Natasha and all others 21:16  |  Philip