Yossi Asraf, the head of the Givat Ze'ev local council and an associate of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, was identified Wednesday as the municipal official detained for questioning on suspicion of public corruption. Police say he is being investigated for fraud, breach of trust, abuse of office, threats, building violations, and tax offenses.
The probe began after a Channel 12 "News Weekend" investigation into construction violations in Givat Ze'ev. The case moved from covert to open investigation two days ago, when Lahav 433's National Fraud Unit detained Asraf. Investigators suspect he tried to block enforcement against illegal building violations in an apartment complex he owns, and that he also threatened planning and building enforcement officials.
Several other municipal figures were questioned as well, including Nahum Glis, the council deputy director general, and the council's legal adviser, attorney Yizhar Dagani. Police also searched homes and municipal offices, and over the past two days dozens of people were summoned to give statements, including most council members, tenants in the allegedly illegal apartments, and residents who faced enforcement actions, in order to illustrate what investigators describe as selective enforcement.
The Channel 12 report said Asraf and his brother were linked to multiple violations and improper use of property, including an unauthorized upscale event hall called Keramim next to a synagogue, 16 apartments illegally divided into 41 units, a private access road to Asraf's home outside the municipal boundary, and an unpermitted balcony. The report also said enforcement efforts had been effectively frozen since Asraf was elected about two years ago, with inspectors blocked by senior council officials. During a council meeting on his own matters, Asraf voted in a way that removed the issue from the agenda, raising concerns about a conflict of interest. In a formal response, Asraf denied most of the allegations, said the apartment divisions were in the process of approval, said the road was built for medical needs, said the balcony violation had been regularized, and argued that the hall finances a synagogue and that he had left the association, so there was no conflict of interest.
