Lieberman: I'm used to police probes before election time

Yisrael Beitenu chairman Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday evening addressed for the first time a police investigation launched this week against him, his daughter, and several of his associates, saying that such investigations are "a tradition for me before elections."

Speaking at an Yisrael Beitenu rally in Upper Nazareth, Lieberman mentioned how two weeks before the 1999 elections he was accused of insulting a municipal employee, and that with elections approaching in February he felt that "there was only one thing missing - a police probe still hasn't been launched."

Lieberman also claimed that he is still painted as an outsider in Israeli politics, saying "a section of the Israeli establishment thinks of me as Yvette [Avigdor's Russian birth name], a terrible, criminal threat to Israel, while [Israeli Arab MKs Ahmed] Tibi and [Jamal] Zahalka are righteous men. The reality is somewhat different."

The National Unit for Fraud Investigation on Sunday detained seven people for questioning as part of an investigation into Lieberman, including Lieberman's daughter Michal and his attorney Yoav Meni.

The police found a series of documents which they say will advance the investigation after conducting searches of the homes of the detained.

The investigation into Lieberman opened two-and-a-half years ago following an expose in Haaretz's Friday supplement in which it was reported that the firebrand Yisrael Beitenu chairman was suspected of money laundering, falsifying of corporation documents and other offences.

The police are expected to request an extension Sunday of the remand of some of the seven people.

Yisrael Beiteinu remains strong in the polls just two-and-a-half weeks out from the general elections.