Aryeh Deri takes over the post after his predecessor Silvan Shalom resigned last month following allegations of sexual harassment. His Shas party is vital to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing governing coalition, which holds a one-seat majority in parliament. Deri, who had served as interior minister from 1988 to 1993, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2000 for taking $155,000 in bribes, though his sentence was reduced by a third for good behaviour. Deri resigned as economy minister in November after refusing to overrule anti-trust authorities' objections to a major natural gas deal being pushed by Netanyahu. His resignation allowed Netanyahu to take over the economy minister post himself and move ahead on the gas deal. Following his resignation, Deri served as development minister for the Negev and Galilee regions.
Israel appoints interior minister who served time for graft
- News Desk
- Jan 11th, 2016
- Comments Off on Israel appoints interior minister who served time for graft
Aryeh Deri takes over the post after his predecessor Silvan Shalom resigned last month following allegations of sexual harassment. His Shas party is vital to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing governing coalition, which holds a one-seat majority in parliament. Deri, who had served as interior minister from 1988 to 1993, was sentenced to three years in prison in 2000 for taking $155,000 in bribes, though his sentence was reduced by a third for good behaviour. Deri resigned as economy minister in November after refusing to overrule anti-trust authorities' objections to a major natural gas deal being pushed by Netanyahu. His resignation allowed Netanyahu to take over the economy minister post himself and move ahead on the gas deal. Following his resignation, Deri served as development minister for the Negev and Galilee regions.