Israeli interior minister under severe corruption probe

Israeli Interior Minister and current chairman of the ultra-orthodox Shas party, Arye Deri, has been named as one of two Israeli politicians who are under investigation for suspected criminal behavior in two unrelated cases, according to Israeli media.

Israel Police has got an order to investigate Deri, who was previously convicted and jailed for corruption while he served as interior minister in the 1990s.

At this point, however, no criminal investigation has been opened.

The investigation's details are barred from publication, but Deri has filed a request to make them public.

The investigation was made public following a report on Israel's Channel 2 News earlier on Tuesday which said that a senior political figure and a close associate of that figure were involved in alleged corruption.