The suspects arrested by police in the major unfolding Beit Shemesh real estate bribery case were brought before the Rishon L’Tzion Magistrate Court on Sunday afternoon, 21 Iyar, for arraignment. Many are already referring to this as the Beit Shemesh Holyland case.

The minutes of the court hearing indicate that there are six corruption cases investigated and related to the wave of arrests carried out by the police.

While one reported corruption case involving a building on Sfas Emmes Street in a city defined as a public (brown) area and converted into private housing units, it appears that five additional affairs were swallowed up in the heat of reporting the first.

In a court hearing, the Israel Police and the attorneys of the suspects said that there were five additional cases of corruption and offenses involving some of the suspects, the details of which were not disclosed to the public.

In a hearing on the extension of the detention of three suspects, a representative of one of the suspects asked the police representative: “You spoke of six cases. Of those six cases, how many of them do you attribute to my client?” The same suspect is associated with two cases. One published today, and the second brought before the court.

The police and the suspects’ attorneys also said: “As far as the second affair is concerned, you did not ask him a single question.” At a hearing for the central suspect, the police were asked: “This is the main affair?” “This is one of the cases.”

In the meantime, it emerges from the hearings that one of the suspects fainted at the time of his arrest, and according to his attorney, he was beaten by the police.

Another suspect is ill with cancer, and claims of leniency in his sentence were raised during the hearing. “The suspect is a cancer patient. In recent years, 10 surgeries and chemotherapy have been carried out. Today he was supposed to start another series of treatments and today was the first of them. His immune system is very weak.” The judge did not accept the lawyer’s argument and extended his detention until Thursday, but ordered him to be examined by a doctor.

In discussions of another central suspect in the cases, there were also complaints about his advanced age and medical condition as a reason for easing detention. “This is a 70-year-old Jew who is taking a long series of medications,” his attorney said, adding that the judge extended his remand until Thursday, but ordered the Israel Prison Service to take care of his medicine and check with a doctor.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)