In what could prove to be another problem for the Likud just weeks before the election, the number 18 candidate for the Knesset on its list – former Beit She’an Mayor Jacky Levy – has been accused, along with several other top city officials, of serious pollution offenses. An investigation by the Environment Ministry’s enforcement corps (the “Green Police”) resulted in an indictment over pollution offenses, specifically of waterways around the city that feed into Lake Kinneret and the Jordan River.

According to the indictment, Levy, as mayor, failed to repair serious problems with the city’s sewage system, despite being urged to by a number of national and local agencies and organizations. As a result, raw sewage flowed into a local stream, and from there into the headwaters of the Jordan River, causing major environmental damage.

In addition, the city failed to properly dispose of solid waste during the period that Levy was mayor, the indictment said.

State prosecutors said that they decided to file the indictment after procedural methods to solve the issues failed. As the senior official in the city, the Environment Ministry said that Levy – son of former Likud MK and Foreign Minister David Levy – was directly responsible for the problems, and will have to defend himself in court on the charges.

Neither the Likud nor Levy had any comment on the matter Sunday.