Tiberias Club Officials Released to House Arrest Amid Financial Probe

Four officials from the Hapoel Ironi Tiberias football club, including Miki Beitan, Eliran Hodda, Arieh Klemenson, and Yael Bar, were released to house arrest on Thursday following a hearing at the Rishon LeZion Magistrate's Court. The investigation, handled by Lahav 433 of the Israel Police, concerns allegations of financial offenses and double contracts totaling millions of shekels.

The police representative, Mari Peretz Boganim, stated that evidentiary strengthening supported the suspicions against the individuals. Due to the investigation's progress, the concern of obstructing justice had decreased, leading the police to request a transition to house arrest. Beitan's lawyer, Rais Abu Saif, agreed to the request, asking for the house arrest period to be shortened to seven days. Judge Menachem Mizrahi approved the request, releasing Beitan to house arrest until November 1, with approved guarantors signing a NIS 35,000 bond. Beitan also received permission to leave house arrest for one hour on election day to vote.

Former Tiberias coach Eliran Hodda, represented by lawyer Adi Carmeli, was also released under the same conditions as Beitan. Arieh Klemenson was subsequently released under identical house arrest terms. Yael Bar received the most lenient terms, released to house arrest for five days under officer supervision.

Police recently raided the homes of the club officials, leading to their arrests. A senior police official commented after the hearing that the case had not collapsed and indictments would be filed. The investigating unit reported extensive efforts, interviewing dozens of individuals and conducting numerous investigative actions. The police stated that the progress in the investigation led to the decision to move the detainees to house arrest under strict restrictive conditions, with the investigation to continue.