Israel Police are examining whether a sweeping corruption investigation at the Histadrut labor federation extended to senior Likud figures, a Lahav 433 commander told Channel 12 on Monday night, according to N12.
The official said testimonies gathered in the case, dubbed Yad Lochezet Yad, (one hand washes the other) referenced several ministers.
According to N12, names raised in collected statements included Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Tourism Minister Haim Katz, and Energy Minister Eli Cohen. At this stage the ministers were not suspects. Police would likely invite them to provide open testimony, not under caution, depending on how the evidence develops, N12 reported.
N12 added that Zohar responded, “I do not understand what I am supposed to address, I have no connection to the affair.”
The reported review of possible political links came hours after Lahav 433 raided Histadrut offices around 6 a.m., detaining or arresting multiple senior figures, including Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David and his wife, as well as insurance agent Ezra Gabay. Later in the evening, a court extended several detentions by eight days, N12 said.
In separate N12 coverage, the network reported that Bar-David, his wife, and Gabay had their detention extended to November 10. The report also said more than 350 people connected to the case had been or would be questioned, including municipal leaders and prominent business executives.
Most 'significant' corruption case in years
As described by N12, investigators were probing suspicions that Gabay, a long-time Likud activist, sought insurance portfolios from municipal corporations, local authorities, and government companies for his agency, and that he cultivated proximity to political figures who could help steer such accounts his way.
Police were also looking into whether senior Histadrut officials planned to sell federation assets worth millions of shekels and skim proceeds through intermediaries, according to the report.
Police have called the affair one of the most significant corruption cases in recent years. No charges have been filed against the ministers named in testimony, and all those involved are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise.