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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert my be questioned for a Jerusalem real estate deal. (AP file)
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| By Israel Insider staff and partners August 17, 2006 |
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Israel's top government watchdog confirmed Thursday that he is looking into a questionable real estate transaction by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but said he hasn't yet summoned the prime minister for questioning.
The State Comptroller's statement came in response to a report in the Haaretz daily that Olmert is to be questioned about the real estate deal in which he allegedly bought a Jerusalem apartment for about $500,000 below its market value. In exchange, Olmert associates allegedly helped the contractor obtain unusual permits from the Jerusalem municipality, Haaretz said in the report.
According to Haaretz, the building in which Olmert's apartment is located was defined as a historic preservation site. The building covers an area of about 330 square meters, and the contractor who sold the apartment to Olmert wanted to expand the building to cover an area of about 750 square meters. In order to do this, however, he needed a permit from the Jerusalem municipality to tear down the existing building and build it anew.
Olmert's office said the prime minister has not been approached by the comptroller.
The comptroller said in a statement that he has been looking into the matter for several months, collecting documents and statements from those involved.
"We haven't turned to the prime minister yet for a reaction," the comptroller said in a statement, adding that the report in Haaretz was "premature."
The AP contributed to this report.
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