Itongadol.- Annual comptroller report says NGOs\’ funding of flights by ministers rises; claims ministers in Netanyahu\’s government fly 60 percent more than those of past two prime ministers.
Ministers in Benjamin Netanyahu\’s government take more overseas flights than those in the cabinets of his immediate predecessors Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, State Comptroller Joseph Shapira said in a report published Wednesday afternoon.
According to the report, close to one third of the flights were funded by non-governmental organizations, which Shapira said could cause a conflict of interest.
Shapira also looked into the foreign travel by Netanyahu during his stint as finance minister under Sharon. In particular, Shapira focused on foreign trips paid for by non-governmental bodies during which Netanyahu was accompanied by family members – some 16 trips in total.
In December 2012, Netanyahu was given a draft report detailing all criticism directed at him personally. However, after a review by Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, the State Comptroller\’s Office was unable to provide Netanyahu with the material used to form the basis of the criticism against him, thereby making it impossible for the prime minister to respond.
Shapira said therefore that the report on Netanyahu\’s travel as finance minister would be presented at a later date.