Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu questioned in corruption probe

Netanyahu is suspected of having received benefits from businessmen, according to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.

Netanyahu was questioned "under caution on the suspicions of receiving benefits," said Rosenfeld. The term "under caution" refers to the questioning of someone suspected of having committed a crime, with the warning that anything they say or decline to talk about could be used against them in court proceedings.

Police and Mandelblit declined to release any further details of the three-hour questioning. 

Netanyahu has repeatedly denied the allegations against him, saying they are politically motivated.

On New Year's Day, the Prime Minister posted on his Facebook page, "Unfortunately you'll have to be disappointed this time as well, like you were disappointed in previous affairs. As usual, there will not be anything because there is nothing. Try replacing the Prime Minister at the ballot box - as is customary in a democracy."

Netanyahu was investigated by police amid allegations of fraud and breach of trust in the late 1990s during his first term. He was never indicted.

Netanyahu is in his fourth term. He has often had a combative relationship with the media, which have speculated for days about when the criminal investigation would officially begin and what it would entail.